The Other Side
by Sennethe
Summary: DDII: Jareth gets a new fashion statement, Alia and Tieran continue their relationship, and Cara gets an odd coworker. Rating for very mild language and violence. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

This is a sequel to Darkness and Dreams, and might require familiarity with that story. It's hard to tell when you wrote both of them, you know? It was originally written in 2000.

* * *

"I love watching it snow," Alia said as the first snow of the season started to fall. "It's so quiet, so serene."

"It will not last. The ground is still too warm," Tieran pointed out.

"I know, but it's still pretty as it falls," Alia answered as they reached the lakeside.

She stood watching the fat flakes fall and disappear into the gray, flat surface of the lake. It was dark and calm, barely rippling, almost viscous. She pointed this out, turning to Tieran sitting on a bench behind her. "Does that mean that it's about to freeze?" she asked.

"Possibly. I do not know. I have never noticed it before."

Alia moved to stand directly behind Tieran. He looked up at her with mild curiosity then back out at the lake as he leaned back against her. They remained motionless like that for some time until Alia moved her hand up to brush the falling snowflakes from his hair before they melted. Alia played with his hair for a while, trying to straighten the short golden strands that were just starting to curl.

"What are you thinking?" Tieran asked with his eyes closed.

"How it's hard to believe, when I really think about it, that this head is connected to a heart that loves me so much. It's never happened to me before, so it's hard for me to wrap my mind around it."

"The brain thinks too much."

"That is its job, you know," Alia said with a small laugh, crossing her arms across his chest, resting her cheek on his head.

"I mean that it tries to analyze things it is not naturally equipped to easily understand. You said yourself the heart held the love. The thinking brain does not handle the deep emotions. When it tries to understand them it lags behind the heart, or what ever it is that deals with emotions. It is handicapped and must catch up."

"I guess that must be it. This feels right, it just doesn't think right."

"Exactly. You have been trying to use the wrong tool to understand it," Tieran answered as he pulled her hands down and held them in his own, bringing her head down level with his and kissing the cheek he could reach.

His mood seemed to change and he released her hands. "Shall we go see what the rest of the grounds look like through the first snowfall?" he asked as he stood up.

"All right," Alia assented.

They walked back up the path, the crunching of the gravel underfoot muted by the snow in the air. Soon Alia recognized that they were heading in the direction of the stables.

They found Night out in high spirits, prancing about the field with neck arched and tail held high.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," Alia said.

The horse caught sight of them approaching and raced, a deep blue streak, across the field to meet them. He stopped directly in front of them, ears cocked forward questioningly.

"It's called snow, if that's what you're wondering. Do you like it?"

He nodded his head up and down enthusiastically.

Tieran laughed. "Ask him that question again in three months and see what he says then."

Night took a step backward and looked dismayed, one ear still cocked forward, but the other turned off to the side.

"It builds up," Tieran explained gesturing at waist height to demonstrate, "and we usually receive a large amount of it here. Enjoy it while you can."

Night's spirits returned, determined to make the most of it, and he darted off across the field again.

.….

He piloted the machine down the road easily. The speed provided no challenge for him and very little pleasure. He sighed as he navigated another curve, then slowed as he entered town, looking for his appointment.

He looked forward to this mission with minimal enthusiasm, just another activity, something to fill some time before he found something else with greater potential. Everything lately just filled his time while he waited for something better. When would he find something with potential? This one might last him a while, but he never expected too much anymore.

He turned into the parking lot and flamboyantly pulled into a parking space. He lithely rose from the sports car and walked toward the office building, experiencing a moment's pleasure at the grace of his own movement. "Lithe." Yes, he liked that word. It described his movement well and he enjoyed its feel in his mouth.

Striding through the main doors and toward the bank of elevators, he wondered what the few people in the lobby would do if he suddenly did something unexpected, say, threw this briefcase he carried through the windows behind him. He toyed with the idea, then discarded it. He doubted the results would be worth his effort or the annoyance it would cause later by complicating the arrangements for this assignment. He would keep it in mind though, an annoyance once in a while held its own appeal if one became bored enough.

The elevator arrived and he rode up to the tenth floor alone. As the doors opened, he put a smile on his face and set himself to charm everyone he met. A simple task really, but he still reminded himself of the necessity of it. Until he found the person he sought, he had to cultivate everyone no matter how useless they seemed.

He approached the receptionist culling wilted blooms from a bowl of bronze and burgundy chrysanthemums at the front desk, unobserved until he stood immediately in front of the desk.

"Lovely flowers. So appropriate for this time of year," he smiled as she looked up at him, startled.

"Yes," she agreed, slightly flustered and annoyed that he had crept up on her. "Can I help you?"

"I'm sure you can," he answered, implying as he started to explain, that only she possessed the ability to help him.

.….

"So what did you do over the weekend? Meet anyone?"

"No. I told you, Maddie, I'm not looking."

"That's when the good ones show up. You really need to do something besides fix my computer for me," Maddie addressed the legs sticking out from under her desk.

"I would if you'd quit messing it up. What do you do to it, anyway?" Cara answered as she crawled out from under the desk after checking out the tangle of cables.

"I don't know," Maddie plead innocence. "It doesn't like me. If I look at it the wrong way, it locks up."

"It's a machine, Maddie. It doesn't have feelings and it doesn't care how you look at it," Cara spoke absentmindedly as she quickly tapped on the keyboard and surveyed the screen.

"Maybe it doesn't care how you look at it, but it definitely has issues with me." Maddie hovered in a corner of her cubicle, unable to help and unable to do anything else while her computer was down. She tried another tack with the conversation.

"Have you thought about the Christmas Party? Who will you go with?"

Cara turned away from the screen. "Honestly, Maddie, anyone would think you're my mother," she said in mock exasperation. "I haven't even thought about it. It's not even December yet. We just got back from Thanksgiving and you're thinking about Christmas parties already."

"You have to think ahead for these things. Guys go fast."

"And I suppose you've got yours lined up already?" Cara accused, one dark eyebrow raised, and leaned against the edge of the desk with her arms crossed.

"I'm not the one we're talking about here. I'm not the one who hasn't had a date in months."

"I've been in the hospital, remember?" Cara sat in the desk chair and turned back to the monitor.

"All the more reason to get out and date. You need to find a nice guy, fall in love. It'll change your whole outlook on life."

"Mm-hmm, I know. My roomie found one. I've seen what it's done to her. She's never around anymore, she's always off in hi-...another world," she corrected herself and hoped Maddie wouldn't notice.

"See. Where'd she find him? You should hang out with her, maybe there's more of them."

"He's not from around here. I think he's pretty much one of a kind. He's not my type anyway, her type exactly, but not mine." Cara tapped a few keys, starting a scan of the hard drive.

"Oh. Well, what about guys here at work?"

"Guys here? Like Walter in accounting?" Cara rolled her eyes at Maddie. She shouldn't be so judgmental, she told herself. Just because he looked funny and sniffled perpetually did not mean he had the personality of a calculator. Still, she always wanted to hand him a box of tissues.

Maddie gave her a pained look. "He's a nice guy once you get to know him."

"If you can stand the sniffles."

"So he has a sinus problem," Maddie tried to persuade her. "Okay, so he's not a good candidate. I didn't mean him anyway. Have you seen the new guy?"

"What new guy?" Cara asked, absently watching the screen and swinging the chair back and forth.

"He's some sort of consultant they've brought in. Probably gets paid an outrageous sum of money. That's your type, isn't it?"

"Maybe," she shrugged. "He's probably taken."

"Sue in reception says he's charming, handsome, and doesn't wear a ring."

"So he's not married. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a girlfriend. Have you seen him?"

"No – yes, that must be him over there," Maddie whispered and pointed over the cubicle walls to a man who had just entered. "No, don't look at him," she hissed as Cara stood to look. "Be casual."

"If you don't want me to look, don't point him out," Cara answered as she turned anyway to look where Maddie had pointed.

She could just see the head and shoulders of a taller than average man on the far side of the room full of cubicles. "What's the big deal? He's not even looking this direction," Cara said just as the inky black head of hair and broad shoulders turned around and looked at her, not only in her direction, but directly at her. Cara lost Maddie's answer when she was pinned by the brilliant green eyes, then he looked away and Cara turned to Maddie, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"What?"

"He looked directly at you, so you got a good look at him. What do you think?"

"He's handsome, I guess," she answered noncommittally while trying to figure out why he had looked at her, what it meant, and how she felt about it. Right now, it gave her the creeps. The computer beeped and Cara gave up trying to figure it out as she finished her job and began to clean up.

"You guess? He could give any movie star you care to name a run for his money."

"He's probably a jerk. Guys that cute are usually so full of themselves that no one else can stand them."

"You could at least meet him first before you call him a jerk."

"Maddie, I don't want date anyone, least of all him or anyone else from the office. Dating in the office is always a bad idea. What if you break up? Then you still have to see them and be civil to them everyday. I'd prefer to not to see any of my exes after I break up with them."

"All right. I was only trying to help."

"I know, but I don't think I need any." Cara doubted Maddie had genuinely surrendered – she thought she would probably be hearing more on the subject before the week was out – but she accepted the temporary relief.

"What are you doing for lunch?" Maddie changed the subject.

"I have a few more work orders to straighten out then I'm brown-bagging it in the break room. Why?"

"Good. I brought mine, too. Stop by when you're done and we can eat together."

"All right," Cara agreed as she picked up her clipboard with her work orders on it and the toolbox carrying the odds and ends she might need in the course of the day.

Cara thought about Maddie as she walked to the next cubicle on her list. She had given up too much already staying here on her own for college to just fall back into the pattern of marrying some guy to stay at home and keep house and have kids. She preferred to have a life and an education and to be able to use it. She had plans, she was going to do things, even if it had meant alienating her parents.

.….

"How was your day?"

"The usual. Fix people's computers when they do something stupid and won't admit it." Cara answered the voice from the couch behind her. Jareth had taken to popping in on her as he did his Listians. She was not a member of his fan lists, but she had read enough of the writings in the archives and the few days she had subscribed to recognize that she had somehow become an honorary member worthy of periodic pop-ins. "Shouldn't you be putting the Labyrinth back together?"

"Why bother? It works well enough as it is. The Listians are the ones who use it most now and they will not notice the difference. They rearrange it as they see fit anyway."

"So you came to visit me instead?"

"The idea of a civil conversation without sexual innuendoes appealed to me."

"I'll take that as a compliment… I think."

"That's how it was intended. May I ask why, if you are frustrated by people and their computers at work, you are sitting in front of one now?"

"Ah, but this is different," she explained as she turned around. Jareth sprawled, as she expected, full length on the couch. "This is my computer, a computer that works, a computer that is connected to the Internet and has games."

"I see."

"So what did you want to have a conversation about? Neither Tieran or Alia are here, so if you wanted to talk to them you're out of luck."

"I didn't expect them to be here. You'll do perfectly well. What else did you do today? I, myself, have done nothing," he said as he placed his hands behind his head. "Another blissful day sitting on my throne watching goblins chase chickens through my throne room. I've tried banning them, but they forget by the next day."

"Who? The goblins or the chickens?"

"Both," he answered with a small smile. "The chickens were only slightly less obedient than the goblins. But what about you? You must have done something other than fix computers today."

"Aside from fending off another attempt to marry me off, no, I didn't do anything else. That's my job – to fix computers." Cara turned back to the computer.

"Who's trying to marry you off?" Jareth asked as he sat up on the couch and swung his legs down to the floor.

"This woman I work with, Maddie. She's a friend of sorts, but sometimes she's more like a nagging mother. She thinks I need to have a man in my life to be happy. She thinks that since I haven't had a date in the last nine months, I must be suffering and need help finding one. Never mind the fact that I've been seriously ill for six of those months," Cara answered, waving her hand to show the irrelevance of this piece of information.

"And you don't want to be married off?"

"No, if I'd wanted to do that I would have gone back to India with my parents and married who they picked out for me like they wanted me to. I mean, I'll probably find a guy someday, but I don't want to marry just any guy. I have my standards."

"And Maddie's choices do not meet them?"

"No. I mean, there's this new guy who just showed up for work today. She doesn't even know his name, but she points him out to me as a candidate. I'm sure she's going to try to fix me up with him eventually."

"Then you don't know enough about him either to know if he doesn't meet your standards?"

"No, I guess not," Cara conceded, "but she could at least wait until she knows his name and if he's available before she starts shoving me in his direction. I mean, he's cute and probably makes a ton of money as a consultant – that's what he's there for – but there's no telling what he's like. I still don't even know his name."

"What would disqualify him? Idiocy?"

"Well, yeah, I couldn't live with a moron who couldn't hold a conversation. But he can't be an idiot, he's a consultant. He has to know something."

"What else?"

Cara thought for a moment. "He would have to let me do what I want. I don't want my life dictated for me. So no dictators."

"No dictators. Anything else?"

Cara suddenly became facetious. "He has to be able to live with me becoming rich and famous, of course," she said with a big grin.

"But of course," Jareth agreed. "What good are they if they can't handle fame and fortune?"


	2. Chapter 2

Cara scanned the next order as she walked to the office with the problem. A new employee had been given his or her accounts and passwords just the day before. The order only said that the computer wouldn't start, giving no further details. Cara could guess what had happened. The employee had probably wasted no time installing some incompatible or virus-laden game – solitaire, first-person-shooter, whatever – and now she'd have to play bad guy and uninstall it, confiscate it, and give a lecture, only to be ignored and come back next week to find the games on the computer anyway. She thought several disparaging remarks about the general ineptitude, stupidity, and disregard of rules that new employees had. The rules never applied to them.

She reached the office and found the door open, so she walked straight in and said, "I'm from computer support. What's the problem?" as she scanned the order for the name of the employee. When she could not find it, she looked up and a pair of brilliant green eyes and a welcoming smile confronted her. This new employee happened to be the man Maddie had pointed out to her yesterday. If Cara didn't know better, she would have suspected that Maddie had gotten into her work orders.

"I'm so glad you're here. I'm afraid I can't do a thing with the computer. Usually I have no problem with them, but this morning when I came in I couldn't get it to start." He grinned sheepishly and moved away from his desk to allow her access to the computer. "I even checked to see that it was plugged in – did that once, called in a technician to plug the cord in for me. I haven't even had time to install contraband on it," he added as she approached the machine.

Cara tried it for herself and just as he had said, it would not even turn on. She checked the cable connections, but they were all secure. She opened it up and found a simple loose wire connection for the switch inside. After reattaching it, she replaced the cover and tried turning it on again. This time it started with a reassuring beep and revving of the drive.

"Looks like that did it for you. Try it out and see if there are any other problems while I'm here."

He sat in front of the computer and logged on and off a few applications to test it. As she waited for him to finish, Cara started her write-up for the work order.

"I need your name for my report. It's not on the work order."

"It's Hadrian O'Keefe," he told her and spelled it for her, watching her as she wrote it on the sheet. "And whom do I have to thank for rescuing me in my extremity?"

"Cara Nithiananda. And it wasn't as dire as all that."

"Oh, but it was. I have my first report due today and the notes were held hostage by that machine. My promising career would have been cut short by a short circuit."

"I'm sure it would have survived." The dramatics annoyed and at the same time amused her. Or did her amusement annoy her? "Does everything work now?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll go save someone else's career."

"Ah, before you go, I have one more question for you."

"What's that?"

"Where does one go to eat around here? I'm new to the area."

"There's a bunch of restaurants around here, just down the street. Fast food, Chinese, Italian."

"I see. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

.….

"I found out his name," Maddie announced.

"Whose name?" Cara asked as she picked at her turkey sandwich.

"The new consultant's. It's O'Keefe, Hadrian O'Keefe," she said smugly.

"I know," Cara said, popping Maddie's bubble casually as she picked up her can of soda to take a drink.

"You know? What do you mean you know? How?"

"I fixed his computer this morning," Cara replied once she had swallowed and set her can down.

"So? Tell me what you think."

"I think Sue was right. He pours on the charm. I think it might be annoying after a while."

"Annoying? How can a man who looks like that and is charming be annoying?"

"Too much of anything can be annoying." Cara snapped off a bite of carrot and chewed.

"What else?"

Cara shrugged. "Nothing."

"Well, then what did he say?"

"He wanted me to fix his computer. It wouldn't turn on. He said he had even checked to make sure it was plugged in." Cara rolled her eyes. "A wire was loose. I fixed it. He thanked me overdramatically and then asked me where people go to eat lunch. I told him there were restaurants down the street. That's it."

"He asked you where to eat lunch and you didn't take advantage of it?" Maddie asked incredulously.

"Take advantage of what?"

"Going out to lunch with him, of course. That's obviously what he was hinting at."

"No, I didn't. I brought my lunch again today. I have to get rid of the leftover turkey somehow."

"You can eat leftover turkey any time. You should have gone with him. There's no telling where you could have gotten him to take you. Maybe that fancy new place on First."

"That place would cost a lot of money. I can't afford that."

"Guys like that pay for your lunch for you, Cara."

"I prefer to pay for my own, that way you don't owe them anything."

"You're never going to get a date –"

"Here we go again," thought Cara and let Maddie ramble on with only half an ear listening to her.

"– for the Christmas party if you don't go out. What am I going to do with you?"

"Absolutely nothing?" Cara wondered idly to herself what Maddie would do if she ever let any of these retorts slip out. "Probably think I'm joking and go right on with her spiel."

.….

The next day Cara found herself in the same seat, listening to the same conversation with Maddie, eating the same turkey sandwich. She felt as if she had never left the break room.

"Maybe Maddie was right. Maybe I should have gone out to lunch yesterday. I'm certainly getting tired of this turkey," she thought as she peeked between the slices of bread. "The conversation had to have been better."

A kachunk from the drink machine across the room caught her attention and she glanced in that direction. Someone – a man – had just bought a canned soda. Maddie sat with her back to the door and the vending machines and had not noticed the other person yet. The man heard Maddie's voice and turned around to see who else was in the room. Cara recognized the face of Hadrian O'Keefe.

"If he comes over here, I'll never hear the end of it. Maddie will never be happy until I'm hanging off his arm like some bimbo. Just turn around and walk out the door. There's no one you want to talk to over here," she willed him desperately.

Instead he started walking toward them, smiling. Cara groaned inwardly and felt like crawling under the table. She really did not feel up to being put on display by Maddie. Something must have shown on her face, because Maddie paused mid-spiel to ask her what was wrong. By that time he had nearly reached the table so Cara didn't bother answering her.

"Hello. It's Ms. Nithiananda, isn't it? I hope I have your name right?"

"Yes, that's right. This is my friend Maddie Wright. Maddie, this is Hadrian O'Keefe. That's right, isn't it?"

"Yes. Pleased to meet you Ms. Wright."

Maddie, for once speechless, merely nodded.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all," Cara thought then said, "Would you like to sit with us Mr. O'Keefe?"

"No, thank you. I just came to get a drink, but please call me Hadrian."

Thankfully Maddie found her tongue at that point, because Cara had no desire to get on first name terms with him at this point.

"That's an unusual name. Where does it come from?"

"It's a family name." He turned to address Cara again. "Thank you again for fixing my computer and giving me the information about the restaurants. Perhaps you could join me sometime?" Seeing the look on Cara's face he added, "Both of you?"

Before Cara could refuse, Maddie spoke up. "We'd love to. Thank you for the offer."

"Wonderful. I have a meeting tomorrow, but what about Friday?"

"That should be perfect," Maddie answered again as Cara opened her mouth.

"Fine. I'll meet you in the lobby at noon," he said and left.

They watched him walk out and then Cara turned to Maddie and kicked her under the table. "What was that? I don't want to go to lunch with him and you know it!"

"Well, I do. You wouldn't want to deprive me would you?" Maddie asked, all innocence.

"At this point, yes." Cara glared at her. "You owe me big time for this."

"We'll see about that. He likes you. You may be thanking me later," she said smugly.


	3. Chapter 3

_Italics_ signal telepathic, sent thoughts.

* * *

Cara closed the apartment door, hung up her coat, and threw her purse on the couch. Jareth caught it neatly and Cara turned at the unexpected movement.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've been talking to Alia."

"And?"

"And now she is in her room changing clothes."

"And you're out here? Your Listians will never believe it. You'd better get your feet off the couch – Alia hates it when people do that." Cara continued to the kitchen and got herself a soda from the refrigerator.

Jareth humored her and took his boots off the arm of the couch. "I don't always behave as they write me. Things have been... exaggerated."

"Right." She set the drink on the table in front of the couch and flopped in a chair. "So you're here waiting to talk to Alia. Bored again? Don't you have a kingdom to run or something?"

"Yes. I thought I would drop in and hear the latest developments in finding you a mate."

"You wouldn't believe," she groaned.

"Try me."

"I'm going to the library if you need me for anything," Alia said as she hurried from her room to the front door with her usual load of books. "See you later."

"Yeah, all right. Don't stay too late," Cara called after her as the door opened and closed behind her roommate. "That's about all I've seen of her in a while. You probably talked to her more earlier than I have all week. Did she say anything about Tieran?"

"I didn't ask."

"You're no help. Where's your curiosity about her?"

"Her love-life is fait accompli. Yours is so much more interesting right now," he prompted as he made himself comfortable on the couch again.

Cara glared at him and started her story. "Well, when I got to work in the morning after I talked to you, I had a whole stack of work orders waiting for me. You know, requests for me to fix a computer or something?"

Jareth nodded. "I understand."

"Turns out the second one was for that new guy I told you about."

"Really? Did you learn anything?"

"Some. His name is Hadrian O'Keefe. Weird, huh? Never mind, I forgot I was talking to someone named Jareth."

"Are you implying that my name is odd?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that you mention it, it's not common around here, but what I meant was that a name that would be odd to me wouldn't necessarily be any different from any of our names to you. They would all be equally odd or common to you."

"Not really. I'm familiar with what goes on in your world. The name is not currently common, but has been used in the past."

"Really? I've never heard it."

"Ask Alia. I'm sure she'll know. Now what else did you learn?"

"I don't think he's American. He hasn't got an accent, but he's different somehow. He dresses well – looks really expensive."

"Well, that is your difference there," Jareth commented acerbically as he thumbed through the fashion magazine.

"No, it's not that. That's the style and that's an old magazine. Besides half those designers are European, so you can't blame the look on Americans."

"Is he a moron?"

"What? Oh. No. He seems intelligent."

"Anything else?"

"Well, the day after that he showed up in the break room and invited us out to lunch. Maddie, of course, accepted for us. I could have killed her."

"Come, come, now. How bad could it be?"

"Lunching with Maddie and an eligible male? Take a guess."

"When is this lunch?"

"Today. We went out today."

"And what happened?"

"Well, he wasn't too bad, but Maddie was awful. She did everything she could to throw me at him. I suppose you want to hear all about it?" Cara asked grudgingly.

"Please."

"First she came to get me early. We were supposed to meet him at noon and she showed up at my desk fifteen minutes early, I guess to make sure that I passed inspection and didn't skip out. She spends so much time keeping tabs on me that I wonder how she gets any work done.

"Then once we met him, there was this whole thing about whose car we would take. His was too small for all three of us, I didn't trust my car, and Maddie's was conveniently a mess so that I had to ride with him. Smooth, isn't she?"

"It's a start. Did you enjoy the ride?"

"Whose side are you on here?"

"I never take others' sides, only my own."

"Figures. Then when we got to the restaurant luckily we got a table with chairs instead of a booth. I'm sure she would have figured some way to stick me on the same side with him, if we had."

"Now that would have been bad manners."

"As it was she spent the whole time talking about me. Volunteering information about where I'm from and my family history. I had to kick her under the table to make her shut up. Unfortunately it was in mid-sentence, which of course was almost as bad as if I'd let her say it."

"Say what?"

"That my parents had already gone back to India and left me here. That they wanted me to go back and marry someone there, but that I didn't want to. That they won't talk to me now because I didn't."

"Are you sure that was what she was going to say?"

"Not all at once, but it would have come out eventually and I don't want it broadcast to the whole world."

"Why did you just tell me?"

"I don't know. You asked." She paused a moment, a little confused, then changed the subject. "Anyway, then she starts bragging on me about putting myself through college, which everyone does, and finding a job, and being in the hospital and making a 'miraculous recovery' as she put it. Like any of that's something to brag to the world about."

"Especially since you had nothing to do with it," Jareth agreed. "If anyone deserves the credit for your recovery, I do."

"You do?"

"The healing peach came from my tree."

"What about Alia?"

"A minor detail." He waved it off.

"You!" Cara grabbed a throw pillow from the end of the couch and threw it at Jareth. "I was almost believing you."

Jareth merely tucked the pillow behind his head. "Then what happened?"

"Then Hadrian let the cat out of the bag. He's being consulted about improving the company's computer system. He wants Maddie and me to give him our opinions on what we have and what we need. On a weekly basis. At lunch. Maddie was thrilled. So now I have to do this every week."

"You could get out of it if you really wanted to, you know. I'm sure he would let you."

"But Maddie wouldn't."

Jareth laughed.

.….

Alia buried herself in a remote corner of the library to work on her research paper. She preferred to work alone, without the distractions of passersby or studying companions. Today, she had chosen to haunt the mathematics section of the stacks. She had tried various sections to study in over the years and found only a few areas that suited her needs. First and foremost, she found that she had to avoid subjects that interested her at all costs.

Fiction was completely out of the question and the alcove of children's books the education majors used, although cozy and out of the way, was also to be avoided if she had serious studying to do, otherwise she would find herself lost in memories of childhood, rereading an old friend to see if it remained as good as she remembered. Even the unintelligible sections of old Greek and Latin texts piqued her curiosity and she had wandered through them more than once as an alternative to studying. She found herself restricted to sitting in the mathematics and political science areas if she hoped to make any progress when she studied.

So, it was in the midst of calculus and differential equations that Tieran found her when he came looking. Another advantage of studying in an out of the way area – Tieran came and went as he pleased with no one the wiser.

_"What is it this time?"_ he asked, running a light hand over her head.

_"Research paper. History,"_ Alia answered as she continued taking notes. She had found the pendant, which Tieran had given her to enable her to communicate with him telepathically when questing for Cara's cure, handy for silent conversations in the library, much better hissing at each other ineffectually.

_"When?"_

_"Ancient Britain, induced by an infatuation with Camelot and King Arthur."_ Alia sat back in her chair with an attitude of frustration and looked at Tieran as he sat across from her. _"I should have known better. Those stories with their knights in shining armor are all out of context and their proper historical setting. Takes all the romance and roses out of the mists."_

_"Which stories have you read?"_

_"I don't know. I've read so many of them it's hard to keep track."_

_"Which time periods are you researching?"_

_"The traditional middle ages ones, I guess. Not the ones set before then, in Roman or post-Roman Britain. At least that's not the time period I'm studying now."_

Tieran smiled in recognition. _"Ah, they do have more than their share of romance and roses, as you put it. And Merlin has some interesting ideas."_

_"I hadn't noticed his ideas really. Too caught up in the romance, I guess."_

_"The stories concentrate on the romances, not his theories. The theories are not mentioned much."_

_"Then what are you talking about? Oh, of course, they're another fairy tale and you've visited them, right?"_

He nodded with a smile and offered, _"Would you like to?"_

_"Yes, but not now. I don't need any odd details to confuse me. They'll think I'm making it all up and lost all historical perspective. Maybe after I'm done with the paper."_

_"As you say. Remind me if I forget."_

_"Did you come here for a reason or just to distract me?"_ Alia half-teased.

_"A little of both. I came to see you, what you are doing, and if you will be available later tonight."_

_"Just more paper to work on, why?"_

_"Dinner. We have not seen much of each other in the past week."_

_"That would be nice."_

_"Wonderful. Call me when you are ready,"_ he answered and leaned across the table to kiss her on the cheek.

Alia leaned ever so slightly into his hand's caress as he pulled it away from her other cheek and disappeared.

.….

"We should do this more often," Alia said as she gazed into the fire. Snow fell outside the windows again, but this time the weather would be cold enough for the snow to last.

"What? Dinner?" Tieran asked as he looked down at Alia's head resting against his chest.

"No, just sitting here. It's comfortable."

"Shall I find some yarn?"

"Yarn?" Alia frowned. "What for?"

"Do you not remember the comment you made about us sitting around a fire knitting?" Tieran asked her.

"Oh, that. And you said as long as we were happy doing that it wouldn't matter if that's what we did."

"Are you?"

"Right now, yes. I really don't want to go back to writing that paper."

"Too much work?"

"That and the fairy tale kind of pales in comparison to the real thing." Alia snuggled closer and held his arm tightly around her.

"Just as long as you do not decide to try playing Guinevere."

"And who would be Lancelot? Jareth? No, don't worry about that. I really don't empathize with her, at least not as she's been written in the versions I've read. My sympathies are with Arthur."

"That is reassuring."

"What would you do if I did pull a Guinevere?" Alia asked out of idle curiosity.

"I have no idea. And I do not care to find out."


	4. Chapter 4

The next Friday when Cara got home from work, Jareth was talking with Alia.

"Here she is. Jareth has been waiting for you, Cara."

"What for?"

"I came to talk with one of my favorite people," he explained.

"What's the matter? Did your Listians gang up on you again?"

"Not at all. Simply taking an interest in your life."

"That's what I thought. You've just come to gossip."

"Gossip? About what?" Alia was completely lost.

"Haven't I told you?" Cara frowned. "No, I haven't talked to you much recently. He wants to gossip about Maddie's latest plans for me."

"She's at it again?"

"Yes, and having better luck than usual – or at least she thinks so – thanks to the recent hiring of a consultant at work." Cara gestured at Jareth. "He's here to get all the details."

"When did this all happen?"

"Last week. The new guy started working just after Thanksgiving. You haven't been around much, so I haven't had a chance to tell you."

"Yeah, I'm always studying or working on this paper."

"Or doing _other_ things," Cara teased.

Alia ignored the jibe. "I've got some free time now. Fill me in on what I've missed."

"Like I said, this guy started working as a consultant to find us a new computer system. His name's Hadrian O'Keefe. I don't think he's American."

"She says he dresses too well for that," Jareth informed Alia dryly.

"I did not. You said that. Anyway, he's been taking Maddie and me out to lunch on Fridays to get our input on the computer systems. Maddie's thrilled – she's been trying to shove me at him."

"And how did today go?" Jareth asked.

"It was a normal business lunch. Maddie couldn't pull her car trick two weeks in a row and we only talked about computers. Maddie couldn't turn the conversation – he asked most of the questions."

"How disappointing."

"Yep, there goes your night's entertainment," Cara said as she got up to change clothes in her room. As she came back out, she said to Alia, "I just remembered, Jareth said to ask you abut Hadrian's name. He said you would know about it. Do you?"

Alia shrugged. "Just that there was a Roman emperor named Hadrian. He was a decent emperor as the Roman ones go. He's best known for having some sort of relationship with a boy named Antinous, who drowned in the Nile, and having a long wall built in Great Britain to keep the northern barbarians out of Roman Britain."

"So he's named after an emperor. Figures." Cara changed the subject. "So, why are you still here? Don't you have a date with Tieran or your paper to work on?"

"I'm taking a break. I finished the first draft – it's due next week. Tieran is supposed to come by soon to get me."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't say."

"A surprise? I love surprises," Jareth commented.

"I doubt you're invited," Cara informed him.

"I cleared my calendar for the whole evening in anticipation of your update. You should find some way to amuse me."

"I thought you came here for intelligent conversation without lewd remarks? If you want that kind of entertainment go find a Listian. I'm sure there will be plenty of volunteers."

"Tsk, tsk. Such a tone to take with your guest," Jareth chided.

"Guest? You invited yourself," Cara snapped.

Before Jareth could take offense at Cara, Tieran appeared. They fell silent and turned to look at him.

"Is there something wrong with what I am wearing?" he asked, looking down at his jeans, sweater and leather jacket.

Alia, with visible relief got up to greet him, kissing him on the cheek. "Not at all. So what are we doing?"

"I thought we would do something here in your world for a change. Perhaps go see a movie," Tieran suggested.

"All right. Let's go. We'll see what's playing when we get there."

As the walked down to her car Tieran asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

"I think so and I think it was a good thing that you did. Just before you arrived Cara snapped at Jareth. I'm glad I'm out of there. I don't want to be there for his reaction. I just hope the apartment is habitable when I come back.

"I don't know what's with Cara, but she's awful touchy. Maybe it's this woman, Maddie, at work who's trying to set her up with a guy she works with. Cara hates it when Maddie does that. She's done it before, but Cara's never reacted like this."

"Perhaps she has changed since her illness after all," Tieran suggested.

"Yeah, maybe that's it."

.….

Cara and Jareth watched Alia and Tieran leave.

"I'm sorry. I'm not really in the mood to be amusing," Cara managed to apologize.

"I can tell. I didn't really mean for you to entertain me. It was a joke."

"Not a very good one right now."

"Apparently not. Would you rather that I leave?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm tired. I'm tired of being put on display. Tired of being on my guard. Maybe you should go. I won't be any sort of company."

"Perhaps you're the one that needs entertaining. What would you like to do?" Jareth asked as he produced a crystal.

"I don't feel like going anywhere, doing anything," Cara said as she watched him play with the crystal.

"You need a change. Think of something."

At a loss, Cara finally said, "Teach me how to do that."

"Do what?"

"Move the crystal like that. I've wanted to learn since I saw it in the movie. Will that satisfy you? You might even get a few laughs out of the deal watching me try."

"I had something more exotic in mind, but if that's what you want..."

"I can't think of anything else right now."

"All right, then." He produced another ball and tossed it to her.

She caught it. "Are these breakable?"

"Not that one. Now watch. First, you must be able to balance and catch it on the back of your hand..."

.….

Alia and Tieran arrived at the movie theater in the closest mall and picked a movie. Because they had just missed the start time, they had almost two hours free before the next showing.

"We could get something to eat and wander around the mall for a while," Alia suggested.

"If you like," Tieran agreed.

They found a pizza place and took their slices to a nearby table.

"Have you ever had pizza before?"

"No."

"How do you like it? Better than peanut butter?"

"Yes, I think so."

It did not take them long to eat and soon they strolled around the mall looking at the shop windows. They passed a jewelry shop and the windows caught Tieran's eye.

"Hey, the girl is supposed to be the one looking at the shiny things. What'd you find?" Alia asked him when he stopped.

"Just looking at how jewelry is fashioned here."

"Oh, I forgot. Professional interest?"

"You could put it that way. May we go in?"

"Sure, if you want to. I like looking at jewelry as much as the next girl."

Alia ushered Tieran out quickly by the arm about half an hour later.

"We shouldn't make too big a scene."

"Really? And who flashed the jewelry worth as much as the whole store?"

Alia slowed to merge with the general flow of people walking past the stores. "Yeah, that was stupid. I shouldn't have done that. Maybe she'll think it was glass. Is my pendant really worth that much?"

"In your world it is. I told you it was rare. Why did my questions worry you?"

"It wasn't your questions, not really. It was more your knowledge. People don't go around telling jewelry stores about their merchandise."

"But the item was mislabeled. The stone was not what they said it was."

"Yes, but unless you're prepared to show credentials, they'll never believe you, no matter how many times you tell them or how hard you insist. Maybe we should stay away from my world. I get cocky and stupid and you know odd things."

"We will just have to think before we act."

They stood a while at a rail overlooking the display where Santa and his elves had been installed, watching children having their picture taken and pouring out their fondest wishes for Christmas morning to Santa while sitting on his knee. Tieran leaned on his elbows staring down at the crowd of children waiting.

Alia took one of his hands clasped in front of him and he looked at her.

"I just noticed – you don't wear rings. Why?"

Tieran shrugged and held his hands, fingers spread, out in front of them. "I never thought about it."

"I expected something, I don't know, a signet ring maybe."

"You do not wear them either," he pointed out.

"I used to. I go through spells. Jewelry, no jewelry. Makeup, no makeup."

"Do you still have it?"

"The jewelry? Some of it. It was mostly cheap, trendy costume jewelry that went out of style, so I got rid of it."

"You should show it to me sometime." He turned and leaned back against the rail.

"Why?"

"So I will know what to get you for Christmas, of course," he said, half teasing, as he tapped her on the nose. "How much time do we have before the movie?"

"No watch either?"

"What time would I set it for?"

"True. We've got less than an hour. What do you want to do now? There's another jewelry store at the other end of the mall that we could terrorize or we could look at other stores."

"I would be interested in seeing more of the jewelry, if you do not mind?"

"No, I don't mind and I'll behave if you will."

At this store they were approached by a salesman and Tieran took full advantage of his offer of help, asking questions about how they made the jewelry, what it was made of, and the differences between the styles. Occasionally he would ask Alia her opinion about a particular style.

"Well, I think that one went much better," Alia said as they walked to the theater. "Though it's a shame for that salesman to spend all that time with us without us buying anything. I'm sure he was disappointed. You know, if for some reason you decided to stay here, I'll bet you could make a living making jewelry and selling it to boutiques and stores like that. Some of the designers who do that charge a lot of money for those pieces."

"Perhaps. But why would I need to stay here?"

"I don't know. It was just a thought. In case it ever happened, you know?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Hold that for me, please," Hadrian called from halfway down the hall as Cara got on the elevator. She hesitated a moment then placed her hand across the sliding panels.

He jogged to catch the elevator down and thanked her as he boarded the car. She murmured a polite response and looked straight ahead as the doors closed.

"How has your day been?" he asked her.

"Fine," she replied.

"Have plans for tonight?"

"I'm busy," she answered immediately.

He smiled at her defensive reaction. It only provided more of a challenge than the pushover receptionist at the front desk. "I didn't mean that as a pick-up line. It was simple curiosity. I wondered what else you did, other than repairing computers. I thought maybe you could give me some ideas of things to do."

"I've been out of circulation recently, so I don't really know what's available anymore."

"That's too bad. Maybe I can give you some ideas when I find them then," he told her as the elevator doors opened on the lobby.

"If I need them I'll be sure to ask," she answered as she exited the elevator.

"Wait." Hadrian caught her lightly by the upper arm before she escaped. "Have I offended you somehow?" He did not think he had, but on the off chance that he had, it paid to know so he could make up for it and avoid it in the future.

"No, I'm just not interested. Just so we understand each other."

"I'm not selling." He released her arm.

"But Maddie is." Cara turned and walked toward the front doors.

"No one can sell you something you don't want to buy."

"But they can make life hell trying to pitch it, trust me," she answered, hitting the push bar on the glass door hard.

"What do we need to do to get rid of her?"

Cara stopped on the broad sidewalk, turned, and looked at him, shielding her eyes against the setting sun. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you obviously feel threatened by what she's doing and I can't talk to you while you feel threatened, so we need to do something about it."

"I've tried telling her and she hasn't stopped. Short of me getting married or moving to another state, I don't know what would stop her."

"I'll see if I can think of something," he told her and walked off to his car.

Hadrian got in his car and congratulated himself on how well he had handled things. In one sentence he had gone from being the enemy to being an ally. Now what could be done about Maddie that would satisfy Cara?

Cara was halfway home before she realized what he had said. If he wasn't selling, as he put it, why did he want to talk to her so badly?

.….

On Friday Cara came back to her desk before lunch and checked her voice mail for messages. There were several of the usual calls from people wanting priority service for a minor problem. And there was one from Maddie.

"Hey, Cara. This is Maddie. I won't be able to stop by early to get you for lunch. I have to finish something up first. I'll meet you down in the lobby. Hope you don't mind. Um, see you then."

"No problem here," Cara said to no one in particular as she deleted the message.

Cara dawdled in the office, filling out paperwork and tidying her desk until the lunch hour approached. She had no desire to get there early. Finally at a few minutes before noon she took her purse out of her desk drawer, grabbed her coat, and headed down to the lobby.

When she got off the elevator, Hadrian was waiting for her.

"Where's Maddie?" she asked him. "I didn't expect her to be late."

"She's not late. She isn't coming. She called me and said something came up and she wouldn't be able to make it. She told me she called you."

"Yeah, she did. She left a message telling me she'd meet me down here, not that she wasn't coming. When I see her again..." Cara remembered their conversation of a few days ago. "Did she really call you? You didn't call her to get rid of her? You didn't put her up to it?"

"No, she called me of her own accord. Whatever her idea is, it's entirely her own."

"That does it for lunch then. See you next week."

"Why?"

"You needed both our opinions. Maddie's not here. What's the point?"

"We can still go. I'll just track her down later. Truthfully, her input has not been of great value so far anyway."

Cara laughed. "She's a pretty average example of the users around here. She might take it a little more personally than most, but she has the same problems as everyone else."

"How do you feel about Chinese for lunch? It's one of the decent places I've found and can get to."

Cara remained speechless, suddenly finding she had been herded out the front doors and towards his car. He opened the car door for her and waited for her to get in. "Watch your head," he warned. He closed the door behind her and walked over to his side of the car.

They drove in silence for the few minutes it took to reach the Chinese restaurant. They had beaten the lunch rush and the hostess seated them quickly.

Hadrian asked what she wanted to eat and when the waitress returned with their drinks he ordered for them both – in Chinese. The waitress smiled, wrote it down and nodded, then left.

"Where did you learn Chinese?" Cara asked him.

"In China. I travel a lot, so I've picked up several languages."

"Oh, I see."

They made small talk about computers for a while, waiting for their food to arrive. Cara gave him her opinions about various components and systems he was considering.

The meal arrived and Cara reached for her fork.

"You don't use chopsticks? I thought for certain you would be an expert," Hadrian commented as he brandished a pair of his own.

"I never bothered to learn. It's quicker to just eat it with a fork," Cara replied.

"You should learn. It's easy really. Here, try it." He held out a set wrapped in paper.

"Really, I'd rather just eat my meal."

"I insist. Put down that fork before I have to take it away from you."

Reluctantly Cara set down her fork and took the pair of chopsticks.

"First you unwrap them and snap them apart."

Cara did as instructed.

"Now take one and lay it between your thumb and index finger and resting on your third finger. Like this." He held his up as an example. "Then you take the other one and lay it over your index finger and hold it with your thumb. See? That's the one that will move. The other one you hold still and hold things against it with the top one. Now pick something up."

Cara wiggled her chopsticks experimentally then aimed for a piece of her cashew chicken. She grasped a piece of chicken precariously and put it in her mouth, quickly ducking her head to meet it halfway before she dropped it.

"There, see? It's not that hard."

"But a fork is easier," Cara said, putting down the sticks and looking for hers. The utensil had disappeared. "You stole my fork! Give it back!"

Hadrian merely took a bite of his Szechuan beef and smiled. Cara saw she had no chance of her getting her fork back any time soon and picked up her chopsticks again, muttering, "You're evil." Cara surveyed her plate. She had to order something that was diced. "It's going to take me forever to eat with these. I'll starve."

"Motivation."

"Okay, how do you eat the rice?"

"Why do you think it's sticky? You pick up a clump of it just like anything else."

Cara started the arduous task of feeding herself, while Hadrian carried the conversation. She listened to him talk about his travels while she fought with the chicken, nuts, and celery on her plate. She gathered from the way he talked that he had been just about everywhere. You name it, he had seen it. If he had not traveled there for business, his family lived there.

Finally, Cara finished with her meal. She hadn't had enough to eat, but she had run out of patience. Hadrian asked for the check and, when the waitress returned with it, they opened their fortune cookies.

Hadrian read his first. "Your current plans will succeed if they are rethought." He looked at Cara expectantly waiting for her to share hers.

Cara unfolded the slip of paper and read, " 9 16 24 31 39 45."

Hadrian laughed, "No, not that side. Read the other side."

Cara turned the paper over. "You will meet the pan of your dreams."

"Quit fooling around."

"That's what it says. Honest!" She showed him the slip of paper.

"It's obviously a typo," he dismissed.

"Or maybe I'll take up gourmet cooking as a hobby." Cara looked at her watch. "We'd better be getting back."

Hadrian drove them back to work with speed enough to have Cara clutching at door handles. She gratefully got out of the car before he opened the door for her again and started walking inside.

Hadrian locked his car and set the alarm, then slowly followed her inside, playing with his keys as he watched her hurry against the rising wind. He smiled.

.….

"Brrr, it's cold out there."

"Yeah," Alia agreed with Cara as she came in from outside. "They said a front would be coming through early this afternoon and I guess it did."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it was getting windy coming back from lunch today," Cara said as she took off her coat and hung it up.

"So how was your lunch meeting today? Oh, be careful going in the bathroom."

"Why?"

"You'll see. Just be careful opening the door."

"All right." Cara had to go see what was in there now, her curiosity piqued. She carefully opened the door, slipped inside, and shut it behind her. "Alia!" she groaned after a moment. "You didn't! How could you? It's not allowed."

"No, I didn't," Alia answered her once Cara came out into the kitchen where she was cooking. "It's not staying long. Only until I can give it away. It's a surprise."

"It better not be staying long."

"What is not staying long?"

"You?" Cara asked Jareth hopefully as he came around the corner into the kitchen. "I suppose you're here for the next episode in the saga of 'Will Cara Ever Get Married?'"

"Of course," Jareth answered, munching on a carrot stick he stole from Alia. "I do hope you won't disappoint me this time."

"Yeah, let's hear it. You didn't answer me before," Alia added.

"Well, for starters Maddie weaseled out of it without telling me, so I had to go with him alone. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant and he stole my fork and made me eat with chopsticks."

"Poor baby," empathized Jareth insincerely.

"Well, it took forever and my hand started to cramp. It was –"

"– not fair?" suggested Jareth.

"No, I was going to say that it was rude of him to steal my fork like that."

"Why didn't you ask for another one?" asked Alia.

Cara paused and frowned. "I don't know. It didn't occur to me."

"It was good practice in manual dexterity for you," Jareth told her. "You haven't practiced all week, have you?"

"What's he talking about?" Alia asked Cara.

"After you and Tieran left last week he started teaching me how to manipulate crystal balls like he does. And no, I haven't been practicing," she told him. "It's a little hard to practice without a ball. You took yours with you."

Jareth produced a crystal for her and tossed it to her.

"I haven't gotten very far really," she said standing up in the middle of the kitchen. "See, he says you start by learning to catch it like this. Then you flip it like this, but you get so good at it that really rolls instead of becoming airborne." Cara demonstrated by placing the ball on the back of her hand and tossing it up in the air, trying to catch it in the palm of the same hand. Instead, it soared through the air in a beautiful arc and landed with a plop in the pot of soup Alia was fixing on the stove.

Cara looked warily in the pot and said quietly, "I'm not very good yet."

Jareth collapsed into fits of laughter in his chair at the kitchen table.

Cara rounded on him, offended. "And I suppose you never did anything like that when you started out?"

"I never...practiced...in a...kitchen," he panted as he gasped for breath and shook his head.

"Was this thing clean?" Alia asked as she held out the crystal in a ladle, draped with a limp onion.

Jareth managed to control himself. "As clean as Cara's hands were."

"I just washed them."

"That's good, because this is dinner. Here, take it." Alia shoved it at Cara. "And get out of the kitchen with it."

Cara took the ladle, rinsed it off in the sink, grabbed a few paper towels and retreated to the couch in the living room. Jareth followed her.

"It wasn't that funny," she sulked.

"Oh, but it was."

"I'm beginning to really dislike Fridays. They used to be a day I looked forward to – now I dread them. The only good thing about them is that I get a free lunch. And look at me! I'm turning into a wimp who can't think for herself."

"You are not," Alia said, drying her hands on a towel as she came in from the kitchen and sat down. "You can't be perfect all the time. No one can."

"Except me, of course."

"Who asked you?" said Cara as she grabbed the towel from Alia and threw it at Jareth.

That reminded Alia of something she needed to ask Cara and she changed the subject. "What are you going to do for Christmas?"

"You, too? Oh, you mean for the holiday."

"Yeah, what'd you think I meant?"

"That party at work. Maddie brings it up regularly. I don't know. Stay here I suppose. What are you doing?"

"My parents called today wanting to know if I'm coming home and who I'm bringing. Did you want to come?"

Cara sighed, "As much as I like your family, Alia, I don't feel up to a big family thing. I think I'll stay here. You don't need me to drive with you do you?"

"No, I'll manage."

A thought occurred to Cara. "Do they know about Tieran yet?"

"No," Alia got up to take the towel back out to the kitchen. "I mean it's not exactly something that comes up in conversation. 'Oh, by the way, Mom, I met a guy in this land where they have dragons and genies and he does magic.' They'd think I'd lost it," she finished as she sat back down.

"You wouldn't have to tell them that. You could just mention you'd found a guy you liked."

"Someone... unusual," added Jareth.

"Yeah, or a foreigner. Did you even mention your stay in the hospital after the costume party?"

"No, they didn't ask."

"What'd you expect? Them to say 'Have you been in the hospital recently, dear?'"

"No, of course not. But it only would have worried them and then I would have had to explain everything, so I didn't bring it up."

"Well, you'd better mention Tieran before you go. Especially if he's going to go with you. Is he?"

"I haven't asked him yet. I haven't decided if I will. They just called today."

"It is a big decision – taking someone home to meet your parents," commented Jareth.

"What would you know about it?" Cara asked him.

"Nothing really. Only what I've read."

Cara turned back to Alia. "You'd better ask him soon. He might have plans."

"Tieran? Doing what exactly?" Jareth scoffed.

"And I suppose you do have plans?" asked Cara.

"No, am I invited?"

"Not in a million years," Alia said. "You'd never blend in."

"And what would all your Listians do without you?" Cara added.

.….

"And a double word score is 64," Jareth finished with satisfaction.

"Jareth, 'xyster' is not a word," complained Alia.

"I am afraid it is," Tieran said from behind her.

"Tieran!" Alia exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"I just arrived. It is a word."

"Yeah, he's right. It's here in the dictionary. Says it's obsolete. 'A surgical instrument for scraping bones.' Ugh. Where'd you pick that up, Jareth?" Cara asked with a grimace.

"Here and there," Jareth answered smugly.

"Did you want to play, Tieran?" Cara asked. "We could start a new game. Jareth's pretty much won this one already anyway."

"Oh, I have something for you," Alia said suddenly and hopped out of her chair.

"Yeah. Give it to him, already. I want my bathroom back," Cara added when she saw Alia heading for the closed bathroom door.

Alia opened the door just wide enough to admit her as she stepped through sideways and closed it behind her.

Tieran looked at Cara questioningly. "What is it?"

"You'll see. I'm not going to ruin the surprise," Cara answered as she cleared the tiles from the board and turned them over to mix and deal them again.

"I have no idea," Jareth shrugged when Tieran turned to him.

When Alia showed no signs of reappearing after a minute, Tieran sat down in the chair she had vacated and made himself comfortable. Cara dealt out the tiles and they started a new game.

"How did you convince Jareth to play a game with you?" he asked Cara.

"We appealed to his competitive nature. We've been stuck in this apartment all weekend long because of the icy weather. We had to do something. Scrabble isn't much fun with only two players so when he showed up again we nabbed him."

On their second word around, Alia reappeared from the bathroom carrying a very large, dark blue ribbon bow. Attached to the bow was a small pale kitten, which she presented to Tieran.

"Merry Christmas!"

Tieran stared at the tiny feline, speechless.

"Well, go ahead take him."

"Why?" he finally asked as he took the kitten from Alia.

Jareth supplied an answer as he drew a tile, "It's a Christmas present. You know, the holiday from this world where people exchange gifts?"

"You seemed like a cat person and he reminded me of you," Alia added.

"A cat?" Tieran was nonplussed.

"Mm-hmm. Look at his eyes, they're blue."

Tieran turned the kitten so he could see its face beyond the bow. The kitten owned a pair of the deepest blue eyes he had seen in a cat. "So they are. 'He's got my eyes. I think I'll call him Jareth,'" he quoted with a smirk.

"Please, not on my account," Jareth said emphatically, rearranging the tiles on the rack in front of him.

"What? Don't you like cats, Jareth?" Cara teased. "I thought that was just another List invention."

"I don't mind cats," he answered, taking the kitten from Tieran, "but at last count, I had approximately a dozen of them named after me. Enough is enough."

"Then he will just have to wait until a name suggests itself," Tieran said. "Two Jareths running around would be too confusing in any case."

"Alia's right, he does seem to have your eyes, Tieran," Jareth commented as he held the kitten up in front of his face to examine him. The kitten squirmed a little and took a swat at Jareth's nose in protest at being passed around and held in that position. Jareth tucked him against his chest before he could get loose or do any damage and removed the large bow from around his neck.

"With eyes like that he has to be part Siamese, which means he may change colors yet," said Alia. "Maybe once he does, a name will come up."

The kitten, oblivious to this discussion, romped across the couch in pursuit of the ribbon Jareth trailed in front of him.

"Maybe you should have gotten Jareth one, too, Alia," Cara said. "He seems to be enjoying him more than Tieran."

"Have mercy on the poor little creature," Jareth said as he quickly handed the ribbon to Tieran. "Can you imagine what the goblins would do to him? A kitten would not have a chance in my castle." As if for emphasis, the kitten crouched on the cushion, pinned his ears flat against his skull, and bared his tiny teeth, hissing. "You see, he agrees with me."

"It looks more like he begs to differ to me," Cara disagreed. "He looks like he thinks he's ready to take on anything." Tieran tossed the end of the ribbon at the kitten, who pounced on it and savaged it viciously.

"What's gotten into him?" Cara asked rhetorically. The kitten tired of the ribbon abruptly and began to calmly groom himself. "Weird cat."

* * *

Scrabble is a registered trade mark of Hasbro Inc., in America anyway. In Canada it's owned by Hasbro Canada Corporation and everywhere else it's J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc., neither of whom have anything to do with either of the Hasbros oddly enough. shrugs The things you learn on websites. And in case anyone's forgotten, Labyrinth and Jareth belong to the Jim Henson Company. 


	6. Chapter 6

"Fancy seeing you here. What's the occasion? Not a social visit surely?" Hadrian asked as Cara walked into his office.

"Someone brought in a virus and it's taking down all the computers. I'm here to check yours. Are you doing anything? Can you save it?"

"No, I'm not working on it now. Go ahead." He got up out of his chair to let her sit in it while she worked. "Did you talk to Maddie?"

"No, I haven't seen her. She's been laying low, avoiding me. With good reason, I suppose." She shrugged. "Have you seen her?"

"No. Do you think she'll come this week?"

Cara shook her head. "Not if she can figure out another way to get out of it. Not only will she think she's getting in the way, she'll probably still be avoiding me."

"Do you want her to come?"

Cara turned from her survey of the computer to look at Hadrian. "Of course I do! No offense, but it doesn't look good for me to be going out to eat with you alone." She turned back to the keyboard. "Why? Don't you want her to come?"

"Well, she hasn't been much help."

"You could find another person to give you an opinion. It would be much more appropriate that way. For that matter you could find several other people. I'm not essential either."

"You've been giving me very good information –" he protested.

"That any one of the other computer support people could give you." She waved off the comment with one hand and continued typing with the other. "Ask one of them."

"But they aren't so entertaining at lunch."

"I see. You prefer people you can steal forks from." Cara felt more and more prickly the more he insisted on lunch.

"Tell you what. I'll talk to Maddie about Friday, okay?" Hadrian said, trying to coax her into a better mood so she would agree to come.

"Whatever. Your computer is clean. Let me know if you don't find someone else for Friday, so I know whether to bring my own fork."

.….

"Cara? This is Hadrian. I was just calling to tell you to bring a fork with you tomorrow."

"Who's coming?" she asked warily.

"Maddie. I told her you would hunt her down if she didn't."

"I thought you said she wasn't very useful?"

"She's useful enough. I have plenty of time to get more information if I need it."

Cara sighed. "All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

.….

When Cara got to the lobby at lunch the next day, Maddie was waiting there with Hadrian.

"Whose car are we taking this time?" Cara asked.

"Mine," Maddie volunteered.

"Then, let's go." Cara started walking. "Where are we going?"

"I thought that hamburger place on Fourth would be good," Hadrian said.

"You're dragging me along on this and you want to go to a fast food place? Cheapskate," Cara said.

"Then where do you want to go?"

"Not Chinese. How about Italian?"

"All right," he agreed.

They reached Maddie's car and Cara claimed the back seat. She opened the door and pushed over the dry cleaning sitting on the seat. Remembering Maddie's excuse from the first meeting, she wondered how long Maddie's dry cleaning usually sat around before making it to the cleaners.

They arrived at the restaurant and ordered. The conversation remained solely on work until Maddie dripped tomato sauce down the front of her blouse.

"You'd better go rinse that. Let me come help you," Cara offered.

"No, that's all right. I can do it myself. I'll be right back."

Cara watched Maddie make her way to the ladies' room then turned back to her lunch.

"What's this I hear about a party for the holidays? Maddie asked me about it earlier."

"It's just a holiday party. They have it every year for Christmas and New Year's. Is she after you, too? She started bugging me about it just after Thanksgiving. This hiding from me has to be killing her. She can't pester me about it every day."

"She only asked me if I was going and who I was going with."

Cara nodded. "And are you?"

"Going? I don't know. I certainly haven't asked anyone yet. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you going?"

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I try not to think about it more than I have to," she answered in a tone that stated she was not going if she had any say about it.

"You should go."

"Why?" Cara asked.

"Why not?" he asked back. "We could go together. Kill three birds with one stone. Neither one of us would have to worry about looking for a date and Maddie would be sublimely happy."

As if conjured by the mention of her name, Maddie reappeared at the table still splotched with a tomato stain. "I'm going to have to run home and change," she said as she grabbed her coat. "You guys stay here and finish your lunch. I'll come back to pick you up. I'll be as quick as I can. Could you get the rest of mine in a to-go box for me to eat later? Thanks."

Cara watched her leave again, thinking, "How convenient," then said to Hadrian, "Are you sure that making Maddie sublimely happy is an incentive?"

"Spreading joy is always a good thing. 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' Or, if that doesn't suit you, what about 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?'"

"I only wish I would get some of the done unto back once in a while."

"Maybe you should start trying to set Maddie up with people. Maybe that's what she wants and why she's always trying to set you up."

Cara barked a short laugh. "She's got a boyfriend. She's always talking about him."

"Have you ever met him?"

"No, why would I?"

Hadrian shrugged. "If you haven't seen him, he might not exist. She might be making him up."

"If she isn't making him up, it would be in poor taste to try to set her up with someone else." She cut off a bite of manicotti. " Besides I don't know anyone to introduce her to."

"It was just a thought. Maybe I know someone I could introduce her to."

"I'm sure she'd love that."

"First, we have to determine if there really is a boyfriend. Is she going to the party?"

"I assume so."

"Good. Then she'll bring him along as a date. We'll see then." He resumed eating his veal parmigiana with an air of satisfaction.

"We?"

"Of course. You have to go to see. We'll go together."

"I never said I would. Don't you have a girlfriend you can bring?"

"No. I'm completely available." He grinned widely. Cara thought he looked too pleased with himself, as if this was the perfect solution to a difficult problem. A solution he had engineered?

"Mm-hmm. And what is Maddie doing for you to put you up to this?"

"Nothing. Maddie has nothing to do with this other than the fact that she was the first one to mention the party to me," he said earnestly.

Cara tried to read his face to catch him lying, but could detect nothing behind his green eyes.

"Honest. I just want you to go to the holiday party with me," he insisted.

"I doubt it, but let's see what you're up to," she thought. "Oh, all right I'll go with you," Cara relented. "Maddie will flip when she hears this." Cara hoped she would not regret this.


	7. Chapter 7

_"Alia,"_ Tieran called to her softly in her mind. As she surfaced from the depths of her dreams she felt him stroking her cheek. She opened her eyes, but saw only a dim shadow standing next to her bed, blotting out the numerals on her digital clock.

"What is it?"

"Come with me." He held out a cloak to her.

"What? Why?"

"Come with me. It is a surprise."

Alia wrapped herself in the cloak then noticed that Tieran also carried a large fur robe or blanket.

"Wait a minute," she said as she grabbed her boots and shoved them on her feet. "All right, I'm ready."

Tieran stood behind her, wrapped the fur around them, and covered her eyes as he transferred them to their destination.

Alia first noticed the sharp bite of the cold on her cheeks as Tieran removed his hands from her eyes. Once she opened her eyes, she saw that they stood on a pile of snow covered boulders at the edge of a wooded clearing deep with pristine snow.

"It's very pretty. Where are we? And why are we here now?"

"Where is not important. Sit down here with me. We may have to wait for some time. Then you will see." He packed down a small hollow in the snow against one of the rocks and settled into it with the robe, leaving her standing with just her cloak.

Stubbornness and curiosity gave way to the cold and common sense and Alia curled up next to him.

"I don't get any more answers than that?" she asked as she rested her head against his chest.

"No, just wait and see."

Alia sat and waited alertly, watching the snow sparkle in the rising moonlight. The moon rose, the shadows darkened and changed shape, but still she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"How long?" she asked.

"It may be some time yet. If you want to sleep, I will wake you when it is time."

"Why'd we come so early?"

"I wanted to be sure we did not disturb anything by arriving."

"Oh," she answered sleepily. Put that way it made perfect sense.

Alia's eyelids started to droop in spite of her efforts to remain awake. She heard singing and a low humming. After a moment she realized Tieran was humming audibly and singing to her in her mind at the same time. It took an adjustment to listen properly, but even after concentrating on it she found she still could not understand the words. She let go and drifted with the tune of the lullaby.

_"Alia, wake up now. It is time. Look. No, stay still,"_ he told her as she shifted to sit up. _"Just look at the clearing."_

The moon had risen high in the sky while she slept and now shone down into the clearing from almost directly overhead. The shadows and trees around the edges lay deep black against the clean, bright white of the snow in the center which sparkled and shimmered like crushed diamonds. Despite or because of – as little sense as that made – the brilliance of the full moon overhead millions of stars twinkled in the sky, more diamonds scattered on midnight velvet.

Then as she watched, one fell across the sky, leaving a shining arc burning behind it. As it fell, instead of arcing across the sky to disappear over the horizon, it aimed directly for them.

_"Is that it? Did you know that would fall here?"_

_"Watch,"_ he told her with a smile in his mental voice.

It landed in the clearing, not burning a hole deep into the snow, but resting lightly on top of it, a tiny, brilliant dust mote of light.

Then another one fell. And another. And they, too, landed in the clearing in front of them. Soon these celestial bodies fell from the sky so fast they became a rain of light, but they were not the stars for, when Alia looked up at the sky for a moment, the stars still formed their constellations.

_"What are they?"_ Alia asked, awed.

_"I will explain later, just watch now,"_ Tieran admonished.

The rain of light slowed and as the last few points landed in the clearing to join the rest of their kin, the dust of their trails drifted down to coat every tree and every surface in a gold and silver glow. Then began the dance.

At first the star-motes, as Alia thought of them, rose only a few inches off the surface of the snow and rotated slowly. Soon, some gathered speed and the uniform disk developed into a galaxy of spiraling arms of clustered star-motes. Then they vaulted for the sky and Alia stirred in protest. Tieran held her still as the star-bits reached the tops of the trees and fell back toward the surface of the snow to chase each other in rapid-changing patterns.

Around and around, over and under they followed each other, like a complicated living version of the Celtic knots she had seen illuminating the margins of ancient manuscripts. The dance expanded and contracted at the creatures' whims, sometimes filling the clearing nearly to the trees, sometimes drawing in so tight that they amazed Alia that they still had room to move around each other.

The weaving and winding of the dance mesmerized Alia and she finally sat stone still without comment or protest as the star-motes spun on and on. Their dance expanded again, further than it had reached yet.

_"They'll find us! We'll ruin it!"_ Alia panicked.

"_As long as we remain still, we will be part of the rock to them and they will continue the dance,"_ Tieran reassured her.

The dance continued expanding, passing among the first trees bordering the clearing with no interruption, incorporating the trunks into the complicated pattern seamlessly. They integrated everything into the plan of their dance. As they reached the foot of the boulder pile, they incorporated the stones and Alia thought she heard faint music. The music grew louder as the star-motes approached and she realized the creatures sang in tiny voices as they danced.

As the first motes danced with the edge of the fur robe, Alia froze, not even daring to breathe for fear of disturbing the rite. They whirled closer and closer. Even at this range Alia still saw only tiny pinpoints of light. They brushed her cheeks and played through loose strands of her hair, barely noticeable by their touch. They passed by, then moments later, before Alia could succumb to the temptation to turn and look, they sped back by the rocks toward the center of the clearing where they spiraled into a densely packed vortex and then fountained upward toward the sky again.

They fell back to the snow and formed their patterns of silver and golden knots and lace again, but their mood had changed. As the star-motes took their leave of one another, solemnity replaced the reveling and rejoicing of movement a moment before. Slowly, point by point, the knots unraveled and tiny creatures of light returned to the sky, melting into the constellations. Finally, only a few remained behind, revelers refusing to leave the party.

A pair of these lingerers wandered toward the rocks and Tieran and Alia, swinging and orbiting around each other. They hovered in their mutual orbit overhead, then made a last close pass before following the rest of their kin and returning to the heavens as well. Alia could swear she heard laughter in that last swoop. Then they were gone.

They sat in silence for some time, absorbing what they had just witnessed, before Alia noticed by the moon that the motes had not danced long. Even though it felt as though they had danced for hours, Alia wished they had stayed longer.

_"That was some surprise,"_ she finally commented, still reluctant to break the silence. _"Thank you."_

_"It was my pleasure. I thought you would enjoy it."_

_"What were they?"_

_"I asked the same question of my mother when she brought me here. All she told me was that they were spirits. Ancient spirits. Older than your world, older than this world. She did not give me a name for them. Perhaps they have never had one."_

Alia turned and looked up at Tieran to ask him another question, but his appearance distracted her. "You have stardust – spiritdust? – in your hair." His blond hair glowed golden and silver in the moonlight.

"As do you," he answered, pulling a lock of her long hair forward for her to see it. "And on your face," he added as he brushed her cheek with his fingertips and held them up shimmering silvery gold. "I suppose I do, too?"

Alia smiled, "Yes, there, too." Then she frowned slightly, concerned. "Were you crying?"

"Why?"

"You have tracks in the dust running down your cheeks. What's wrong?" she asked burrowing close again.

He sat silently a moment.

"Nothing, really. I was remembering my mother."

"You miss her? What happened?"

"I am not sure. One day she was no longer there. My father would never explain. Not even to tell us whether she left or whether she was dead. Now he is dead, so I will never know."

"When did it happen? When she disappeared I mean."

"Oh, I was grown by that time, a young man. I was not left a tragically motherless young child, but I was always closer to my mother than I was to my father. My brother and my sister, on the other hand, always related much better to my father. Their interests were the same and he understood them better than he did me. So he was more than willing to leave me to my mother and I was happier that way."

"What did you do with your mother?"

"I learned. She taught me things, made sure that I learned to think for myself, that I learned how to learn, that I had access to whatever interested me. And she took me to see things."

"Field trips."

"Hmm?" he asked looking down at her resting against his shoulder.

"We call them field trips. Trips from the classroom to museums and other places to learn what we can't in the classroom."

"Ah. Yes, field trips."

"So you came here to watch this on a field trip? How old were you?"

"Very young. It is one of my earliest memories." He chuckled. "I believe I was harder to keep quiet than you were."

"Is it always the same?"

"Much the same. They fall from the sky, they dance, they return."

"I wonder why?"

"Why what?"

"Why they fall, why they come here, why they dance. All of it. And where do they come from?"

"All I can tell you is what my mother told me. She said they come here only when there is a full moon on a winter solstice. No one knows where they come from, where they are for the rest of the time, or why they choose this particular place."

"If it is such a rare thing, why aren't there more people here to watch it? On Earth there would be throngs of people."

"Because it would not happen if there were throngs of people. It has been kept a secret in my mother's family for generations."

"Oh," Alia said awed. She sat up to look at Tieran again. "And you brought me here to watch it?"

"Who else would I share it with? It does not happen very often. It needs to be shared with someone special."

"If for no other reasons than to stay close for warmth."

"Are you cold? We can go back."

"A little."

They arrived in a cozy, low-ceilinged room somewhere in his house with a fire burning warmly in the hearth. Alia held her hands out to it in relief. "Ahh, that feels so good."

Alia caught sight of herself in the mirror hanging over the mantel, and rubbed at her cheek. "I really have that stuff all over me, don't I?"

"Leave it," Tieran said as he touched a finger to the tip of her nose. "It will disappear soon enough."

"Disappear? What, does it absorb into your skin? Evaporate?"

He shrugged. "One or the other. Now we will sit here until you are warm and then send you to bed."

They sat on the couch in front of the fire until Alia was warm and drowsy. Tieran caught her just as she started nodding off.

"Warm now?"

"Mmm, yeah," she managed to respond.

"Sleeping, too, I see. Bedtime for you. I will be right back. Stay here." He disappeared.

When he reappeared, Alia had slipped down into a half sleep again. He picked her up off the couch to carry her up to her room.

Alia's mind floated to the surface when Tieran picked her up and she stirred a little, starting to protest that she could walk for herself. Then she remembered that if Tieran had not wanted to carry her he could have transported her, so she decided to enjoy it.

Tieran put her down in her bed and pulled off the boots she was still wearing. Unfortunately, this disturbed her just enough to finally break her drowsy mood.

"Thank you," she said as Tieran tucked the comforter around her.

"Only pretending? Thank you for what?"

"No, not really. I just woke up a little. Thank you for everything. Taking me to see them. Trusting me to see them. Bringing me up to bed."

"I wanted to, but you are very welcome. Go to sleep now," he said as he bent to kiss her on the forehead. Then he paused and tentatively placed a kiss on her lips. He stopped, judging her reaction and when she did not say anything, kissed her again with more assurance.

Alia was just beginning to enjoy herself when he pulled away and smiled. "Good night. Sweet dreams," he wished her and left.

"Like I'm going to be able to sleep now," she grumbled and pulled the comforter over her head as she turned on her side.

On the other side of the door Tieran ran his hand through his hair, then walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

Alia slept late the next morning, enjoying the respite from classes, research and papers. As she showered she thought about Tieran's behavior the night before.

The kiss had been wonderful, their first one really. He had kissed her before at the party, but did that really count? It had been playacting, at first anyway. Then it had released emotions that she, for one, hadn't fully acknowledged until then. But since then he had limited himself to chaste kisses on the cheek or forehead. Which had been nice enough in their own way, but now that she had had a real, intended kiss, well… the nice little pecks weren't nearly as nice. She decided he could kiss her like that any time.

What if he suddenly decided he wanted to do more than that?

Alia's stomach did a flip-flop and she leaned against the cold wall of the shower to think about it. "I can't imagine him doing that, but what if he did? What would I do? What do I want to do? What do I want him to do?"

She shook her head and resumed lathering her hair. "I haven't the slightest idea," she told herself. "I'll just have to wait and see how I feel if it happens." She rinsed her hair under the hot water and got out of the shower before her imagination went any further.

As she dried off, she had another thought. She had finally decided the day before that she would not invite him home for Christmas, rationalizing that this might just be some crush and that she should not introduce someone to her family during the holidays. "But if this is going to be serious, maybe I should. Besides, that was just a lame excuse anyway. It's not going to get any easier or be a better time if I wait. I'll just have to explain why I didn't mention him sooner. Question is – will he want to come?"

.….

"Of course I will come home with you if you want me to." Tieran looked up from his writing. "When will you go?"

"This weekend, actually," Alia said stroking the kitten in her lap.

"That is rather short notice."

"Well, I wasn't sure I wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact I had pretty much decided not to, so I thought it wouldn't matter much. I'd just tell you where I'd be and that would be it. But I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"I decided that introducing you to my family wouldn't get any easier if I waited longer. And then, there was last night."

"What about last night?"

"All of it. That you took me to see the dance and told me about your mother. That was a little like taking me to meet your family. Is the rest of your family still alive?"

"My father is gone. My brother and sister do not live nearby."

"Ah. I'm sorry."

"I told you we were not close. Though I do wish you could have met my mother. I think she would have liked you."

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Have you found a name for this kitten yet?" About to ask him about the kiss, she lost her nerve at the last moment.

"No, not yet." He looked at her quizzically, but she avoided his gaze, intently playing with the kitten instead. He wondered what her original question had been.

.….

"Tell me about your family," Tieran requested as they drove to her home several hundred miles away.

"What do you want to know?" asked Alia, not knowing where to start.

"Siblings?"

"Two, a younger brother, Albert, and an older sister, Marie. Albert should be at home, so you'll meet him, but Marie is married and going to her in-laws for the holidays, so she won't be there."

"How old is Albert?"

"Um... let me see, he's... I guess he'd be almost 20 now. He's a sophomore in his second year of college. There's one in my hometown, that's where he went. I could have gone there, but I didn't want to. Cara and I wanted to go out of state instead."

"What do your parents do?"

"They teach at the college. Mom has a doctorate in history – that must be where I get it – and Dad has a doctorate in physics. What else do you want to know?"

"If I think of anything else, I will ask you. Did you tell them I was coming with you?"

"Sort of," she admitted. "I called them this morning and told Albert I was bringing someone home, but I didn't say who. Luckily I talked to him and not Mom or Dad. They would have wanted explanations over the phone and we never would have left. Albert, on the other hand, takes a message and leaves it at that. So they know to have the spare room ready, but nothing else."

She drove on in silence for a while, then asked, "Are you hungry? We can stop up ahead and eat when we get gas or we can wait until we get home."

"How much longer will it be?"

"A couple hours."

"I can wait."

"All right."

They stopped for gas and then continued on their way. Tieran, hypnotized by watching the leafless trees slide by, dozed off, his head propped against the passenger's side window. Alia let him sleep until they drove into town.

"Tieran, wake up. We're almost there."

"Already? How long did I sleep?" He stretched and rubbed his neck where it was stiff from the odd angle.

"About an hour."

"This is where you grew up?" he asked looking at the stores, houses and apartments as they drove by.

"Yeah, they moved here shortly after my sister was born. That's one of the schools I went to up ahead."

She turned down a side street, then turned again, and slowed in front of a large two-story house, with a covered porch running the whole length of the front and a detached garage off to one side. She pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine.

"You go tell them, I will get the bags out of the car," Tieran told Alia, squeezing her hand on the steering wheel and opening his door.

She pulled the lever to pop open the trunk for him, but remained where she was. He walked around to the back of the car and lifted the trunk lid, then peeked around it to see how things were going. Alia still sat in the car. He opened her door.

"It is not going to go away. You have to tell them. What are you worried about?"

"I don't know."

"That they will not like me? I am not that odd, am I?"

"Hardly. It's just that it's a change, I guess. And all the questions." She sighed.

The front door opened and a small, woman with graying dark hair appeared in the opening.

"Now you must do something. Go on."

Alia got out of the car and climbed the porch steps. The woman opened the screen door to greet her with a hug.

"You made it, dear. I was beginning to wonder. Your father is at school finishing up some paperwork. He should be home soon. So, that's who you brought," she said, watching Tieran pull bags and boxes out of the trunk. "All Albert said was that you were bringing someone home."

"That's all I told him."

"Come inside. Albert! Come help take the bags out of Alia's car." Alia heard a loud thumping, as of something heavy falling down the stairs and a young man appeared in the entryway.

"Hey, Sis."

"Albert. You're still growing?" Alia asked the tall young man.

"Go help with the bags and show him where to put them, please. I think he is still growing, though he has slowed down," Alia's mother added as he jumped the railing at the end of the porch. "So, are you going to tell me anything about him? What's his name?"

"Tieran S'Artali."

"And is he boyfriend or just a friend?"

"Both. He's become a very good friend. It seems odd to think of him as a boyfriend. The word doesn't fit him very well." They stood in front of the living room window watching the unloading and sorting of the bags. Alia had thought of Tieran as a little over average in height, but next to her dark-haired brother he looked so much smaller.

"How long have you known him?"

"About three months. I met him at the hospital when Alia was sick."

"He's a doctor then?"

"No, I just met him at the hospital. He didn't work there. He... was visiting someone."

"Why didn't you tell us about him sooner?"

Alia could hear footsteps in the hall and going up the stairs. Albert asked Tieran a question at the top of the stairs that she did not quite catch. She strained to hear Tieran's accent answering, but heard nothing from upstairs.

"There wasn't anything to tell until Halloween and then I just didn't want to play twenty questions."

"Sorry, dear. I'm just interested. Why don't you go up and find out what Albert's done with him?"

Alia climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to the spare room that used to be her sister's. In passing her own old room on the way, she looked through the doorway and saw her things sitting on her bed. She heard voices down the hall and followed them.

Albert was helping Tieran put things away and talking about school. By the sounds of it, things were going the same as usual – Albert was doing well in his classes and the sports he played. Currently, Tieran was receiving a play-by-play of his last basketball game.

_"Following any of this?"_ she asked Tieran as she leaned against the doorjamb.

Tieran looked up from his suitcase. _"Not really. Another thing to learn."_

_"If you're going to learn about a sport to keep up with him, you'd better learn about all of them. If he doesn't play them he's a fan." _"What's up, B? Besides you, I mean. I thought for sure you would have stopped growing by now."

"Hey!" Albert got up off the bed and gave her a bear hug. "I've missed you. A little."

"Yeah, I can tell. So much that you forgot about your sports and came downstairs to get me."

"I thought Mom would want to talk to you. She was dying to know who you were bringing, really annoyed that I didn't think to ask. And then when I saw who you brought I thought I'd better stay out of her hair for a while until she got all her information."

"So I guess you guys introduced yourselves?"

"Yes, we did and the car is empty, so I believe a formal introduction to your mother is next."

"Dad, too," Albert added from the window overlooking the driveway. "He just got home."

"Think we should let Mom talk to him first or go downstairs now, B?"

"I think we leave it to Mom for a little while. If we stop and put your stuff away on the way, our timing should be about right."

They walked down the hall to Alia's room where she hung a few shirts and pulled out the gifts she had brought for Christmas. Albert started looking at the tags, but Alia grabbed them away from him.

"No peeking. You can wait a few days or at least until they're under the tree." She handed half of them to Tieran to carry downstairs and took the rest herself. _"I swear, sometimes he's like a big – a very big – five-year-old,"_ she told Tieran.

They deposited the gifts under the tree and herded Albert away from them into the kitchen where she heard her father talking.

"Alia!" her father said as he saw her walk into the kitchen. "Your mother tells me you brought someone home with you? Ah, there he is," he added as Tieran came out from behind her brother.

"Yes. Mom, Dad, this is Tieran S'Artali. Tieran these are my parents Elizabeth and Peter Gardner. And you and Albert have already met."

After the introductions Elizabeth got Alia and Tieran something to eat and they spent the rest of the afternoon in conversation catching up on each other's lives.

The next day Alia sat in the family room and played a game with her father. Albert had gone out to do some last minute shopping – his usual Christmas routine – and she thought she could hear Tieran in the kitchen with her mother.

"It's serious, isn't it?" her father asked suddenly.

"What?"

"This thing with Tieran. This isn't just dating for the fun of it, is it?"

"Mmm. I don't think so."

"How serious?"

"I'm not sure exactly."

"True love?"

Alia moved a piece on the board. "That's the question. I'd hate the mess it would make if it wasn't. The pain it would cause. It would hurt him badly enough if I let go now, but I'm sure we would hurt each other more fighting each other if it wasn't."

"You're thinking about not hurting him. I think that's a good sign."

"But what if we marry and it isn't true love?"

"What if it is and you don't?"

"You're starting to sound like him."

"Is that a compliment or a complaint?"

"I don't know. It's kind of annoying. I mean he's right – you're right. It's just that it doesn't help much."

"Some things you have to decide for yourself. As convenient as it would be to blame someone else for making a bad decision, you can't do that."

"I know. I just wish it was more obvious."

"Maybe all the important decisions are the hard ones. Maybe that's what makes them important. Or because they are so important, because so much depends on them, they're hard."

"Whatever it is, I just need a hint."

.….

"See you roll it out like this," Elizabeth demonstrated to Tieran. "Then you cut out the pieces the size and shape you need and bake them."

Tieran nodded. "And then you build with them?"

"You glue it all together with frosting and decorate it with candy. There are some pieces done over there already if you want to try it." She pointed to the kitchen table where she had spread out some slabs of gingerbread to cool. "Or you can use cookie-cutters and make them into little boys and girls and decorate them."

Tieran sat down at the table and surveyed the building materials in front of him. He selected two slabs and began building a small cottage.

"Alia said she met you at the hospital. Were you visiting someone?"

"Yes, I was – a friend."

"I hope it turned out well for them?"

"Yes, a complete recovery."

"Just like Cara, then. That's good. We were really pleased to hear she made a full recovery. It was amazing." Mrs. Gardner rolled dough and cut out cookies silently for a moment then she asked, "What are you doing with Alia?"

Tieran calmly continued building his gingerbread house and waited for Alia's mother to clarify her question.

"Are you just passing time, amusing yourself for a while? Playing the field? Or are you looking for a serious relationship?"

"I am not just passing time. I take Alia very seriously."

"What are your future plans with her?"

"That depends entirely on Alia and what she wants," Tieran answered as he placed the roof on his cottage.

"What does she want?"

"I have not asked."

"Asked what?" Alia inquired as she walked into the kitchen.

"What you want for Christmas, dear. I was wondering if you had dropped any hints. Finished your game with your father?"

"Yeah, he won. One of these days I'll beat him. Oo, a gingerbread house. I haven't built one of these in ages."

"There are enough pieces left for another one, I believe," Tieran pointed out. "I will even share my candy with you."

Alia sat down at the table across from Tieran and he passed her the frosting.


	9. Chapter 9

On Christmas morning they all gathered around the Christmas tree and Alia's father passed out presents. Alia soon had a cluster of small boxes in bright metallic paper and Tieran received a single box, which Alia looked at curiously.

"Alia didn't you get Tieran anything?" her mother asked.

"Yes, I did, but I had to give it to him early. Cara wanted it out of the apartment. She wanted the bathroom back."

"What?"

"I gave him a kitten. I had to keep it in the bathroom, because we're not really allowed to have pets. Cara wanted the bathroom back, so I had to give it to him last week. I wouldn't have been able to sneak it here anyway."

"Who's watching it?"

"A friend at my home," Tieran explained.

"Who opens first?" Albert asked, impatient to get on with it. They all took turns opening their gifts until only Tieran's one package and Alia's flock of six little boxes remained unopened. She had already opened the presents from her family – several books and a sweater from her brother – and had saved this set from Tieran for last.

"Open yours first, Tieran. I'm dying to know what they got you," she requested, for the gift was from her parents.

He carefully pulled the wrapping paper off, exposing a plain box. Lifting the lid off of that revealed a layer of tissue paper. He folded back the tissue and lifted a silver frame out of the box. The frame held a picture of Alia from a few years before. She had had it taken at one of those shops specializing in makeover photos and given it to her father as a birthday present. Alia remembered that what they had done with makeup had amazed her.

"But Dad! That's your picture!"

"We can always have a copy made. I thought he might like to have a photo of you."

"It is a wonderful picture. Thank you, I appreciate it very much." He wrapped it in tissue again and replaced it in the box which he tucked next to him in the corner of the couch. "Now open yours, Alia. The gold one first."

Alia picked up the small box tied with a gauzy gold ribbon. The lid and box had been wrapped separately, allowing her to simply lift it off once she untied the ribbon. Buried in the gilt-edged tissue paper she found a golden figure that she placed on the palm of her hand to examine. About the half the size of her palm, the griffin slept with wings folded, curled in a ball, lion's tail curled over eagle's beak.

Her face broke into a delighted grin. "Oh, Tieran, he's wonderful. Thank you so much." She hugged him.

"There are more, keep opening. The silver one next."

Alia pulled off the lid and pawed through it with her finger and to find a silver dragon about the size of her littlest finger. She pulled it out and admired it, "It's beautiful, thank you."

"Now the blue one"

Alia set the dragon on the table in front of her next to the griffin and picked up the blue box. In this one she found a horse blown from deep blue glass. "I think I see a pattern, but I can't think of the rest of the colors. Red, purple, and white?" she asked, looking at the remaining three boxes.

"Purple is next," Tieran told her.

She opened the purple box and pulled out a trumpet shaped flower carved from amethyst on a silver stem. Fine silver tendrils curled out from the stem, supporting it so that it would sit upright on a table. She frowned at it slightly. "A purple flower?"

"Oh, isn't that delicate," her mother exclaimed. "May I see it?"

Alia handed it to her mother and looked at Tieran still puzzled.

"Oh, look it even has a funny little blue caterpillar on it," she said as she showed it to her husband sitting next to her.

Realization dawned on Alia. _"Oh, the worm and the cliff!"_ "Now which one? Red or white?"

"Red."

Alia picked up the red box, the largest and heaviest of the flock, and untied the ribbon. Instead of tissue paper, layers of black velvet filled the box. Alia pushed them aside and carefully lifted out a crystal sphere.

"Is this from who I think it's from?" she asked Tieran.

Tieran nodded.

"Who's it from?" Albert had to know.

"A friend. A neighbor of Tieran's," Alia told him. _"Did he say what to do with it?"_

_"You will have to ask him."_

"You're getting some strange friends at college," Albert said. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Look for my dreams, I suppose," Alia said absentmindedly as she tucked it back in the box, which really only made Albert wonder about her more.

For the last gift she had to remove the pearlized white paper and green ribbon to open the box. She broke the tape holding one end of the box closed and slid out a lump of tissue paper. Unrolling it, she found a white porcelain statue of a cat. She turned it over so that it lay face up in her hand and saw bright blue eyes painted on its pale face.

"It's the kitten! See that's what the kitten looks like." She showed her parents.

"I found it when I went shopping with Albert," Tieran explained. "It seemed to fit with the rest, so I bought it."

"Fit? How?" Albert asked. "I don't see how any of it fits together."

"The other four figures come from a story I told Alia just after we met."

"What is it?"

"It's a long story, B. Maybe one of these days when we have lots of time I'll tell you." Alia said.

.….

That night, after the parades, the Christmas dinner, and the football games, Alia felt like getting out of the house.

"I'm going to go for a walk. Do you want to come, Tieran?"

"Yes."

They got their coats and left by the front door, Alia leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Tieran asked.

"I thought we'd go to the park. It's just down the block. I used to play there when I was a kid." Alia tucked her hand under his elbow, walking close next to him. "I thought I'd show you how I spent part of my childhood. And it gets me out of the house."

"I thought you got along well with your family?"

"I do. I just can't take them for too long anymore. Here it is," she said, crossing the street to a tree-filled block. "Besides, I miss being with you."

"I have been here."

"But, with my parents around, I can't act the same way with you as I usually do."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Inhibitions. I have an image to keep up for them, I guess. I have to behave the way I think they want me to behave. I don't feel as free to… to just touch you to reassure myself that you're still there and real."

"I will always be there. Do not worry about that."

"I know. It's probably just more of that heart versus head stuff. Look – the merry-go-round is still here." Alia walked up to the floating metal disc surrounded by its trench dug by the dragging of thousands of children's feet. "You hold on to these handles and push it around until it's spinning as fast as you can run. Then you jump on and ride it." She idly pushed one of the handles and the round table began to spin slowly.

"Was it fun?"

"Oh, yes, loads of fun for a kid. As long as you didn't trip or slip – that hurt."

"Show me."

"I don't know," Alia shook her head. "It's been a long time since I've done anything like that."

"Show me," Tieran said, sitting on the edge of the merry-go-round.

"All right. Pick up your feet so they don't drag." She started to push until she was running alongside it, then jumped on.

She laughed in surprise, having more difficulty staying on than she remembered. With a glance up from the metal surface she saw Tieran had braced himself against the crossbars and handles.

"Oh, my," Alia said, quickly looking down again after looking up at the spinning world. "That was a mistake. I don't have the equilibrium of an eleven year-old anymore."

She tried to pull herself closer to the center. Tieran held out a hand to her.

"Here. Come here."

Alia grabbed for his hand quickly and he helped pull her closer to the center.

"This is harder than I remember it being."

"You weigh more now. Simple physics, as your father would tell you."

"Ah, more force to throw us off. I hadn't thought of that."

"How long would you do this?"

"For as long as we could find someone to push it or stand up to push it ourselves." She wiggled a little. "It's not as comfortable, either. Another happy memory of childhood tarnished."

"No, it is not very comfortable. How do you stop it?"

"More physics. Friction. You drag your feet over the edge. Or you wait for it to slow down on its own."

Tieran brought it to a stop and stood up.

"Careful. I wouldn't recommend that," Alia said as she scooted to the edge.

Tieran swayed slightly, then stood upright, holding on to one of the handles. "I am fine."

"Well, I'm not," she said, lying back on the icy metal plate. "Look, the trees are spinning," Alia laughed, pointing to the branches over their head.

Tieran's balance surrendered after looking up at that suggestion. "Perhaps you have the right idea," he said, following her example and lying down on the merry-go-round nearby. "Tell me when they stop." After a moment he added, "When you close your eyes, it feels a little like flying."

"What else did you do as a child?" he asked as things settled back into place.

"Swings were fun. They were like flying, too. There used to be some around here."

She found the swings and sat in one.

"Shall I push you?" Tieran offered.

"No, I don't feel like it tonight. It's a little too cold."

"Do you want to go back?"

"No, not yet. Let's walk around some more." She left the swing with a rattle of the chains and strolled through the trees, vanishing in the black shadows and reappearing in the yellow light cast by the street lamps.

"My parents wonder what's going on with us," she said suddenly.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Your mother asked me about my intentions toward you." Tieran stopped and leaned against a tree.

"My father wanted to know about my feelings yesterday. And then today while we were fixing dinner, my mother asked me what you do to make a living." She scuffed her toe through the pine needles and leaves on the ground. "I said your family was rich, so she wouldn't think that you were a con-artist, but I got carried away with all the descriptions. She jumped to the conclusion that you were some rich guy trying to buy me, using me like anything else you might own."

Tieran caught her hand and pulled her over to where he stood. "You are a person. I could never own you. What did you tell her?"

Alia stood in front of him, swinging his hands to and fro slightly as they held hers. "That I thought the idea was ridiculous. That I hadn't slept with you, that you had barely kissed me, and that you hadn't given me things to buy me."

"I have not been very demonstrative, have I?"

"No, not really."

"I did not want to… offend you, frighten you."

"You didn't want to move too fast." Alia nodded. "I understand. Give it a try. I'll forgive you this once."

Tieran released her hands for her face and kissed her. Alia felt his hands burn against her cold cheeks, then forgot to notice anything else.

"Can we do that again? I could get to like that," Alia asked as she slipped her arms around his waist.

"Mm-hmm. If you will answer a question for me."

"Blackmailer. What is it?"

"What did you tell your father?"

"About what?" The previous part of the conversation had completely slipped her mind for some reason.

"Your father asked you how you felt about me. What did you tell him?"

"I admitted that this is serious, not just play dating. I said I didn't know what to do, but that I didn't want to hurt you." She looked up at him, but could not read his face in the shadows. "I don't, you know. That is the very last thing I want to do."

"You do not sound certain of your feelings," Tieran said carefully.

"I wasn't."

"Past tense? Is that significant?"

"Yes. I'm sure now."

"And?"

Alia kissed him. She was fairly certain of what he wanted to know, but she was enough of a romantic to want him to come out and say it. "Ask me and I'll tell you," she whispered.

"Alia, will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you be my wife?"

"Yes. I will. I said I wouldn't leave you and I meant it more than I knew."

"Demonstrative enough now?" Tieran asked some time later after he had thoroughly kissed her.

"Mmm, yes, we're getting there," she answered with a shiver.

"Cold?"

"Only a little, but I suppose we should go home before they start worrying and send out a search party." She led the way back through the trees.

"Tieran. Um, not to be ungrateful or anything, but usually around here when people get engaged there's a ring. My mother will expect a ring. Cara will demand one. I can wait to tell them, but eventually…"

"I have a ring."

Alia stopped and looked at him. "You do? You're supposed to put that on my finger when you ask the question, you know."

"I was… preoccupied." He retrieved a faceted stone out of the air in much the same way Jareth would have produced a crystal ball and then changed it to a small ring. Alia peered at it nearsightedly in the darkness.

"Come over here where we can see," he suggested and pulled her by the hand to the nearest street lamp. "Do you want the full ritual again?"

"No, you don't have to. The ring is just the icing on the cake. We've already agreed on the important stuff."

"Will it fit?"

"It should. If not, I can fix it." He slipped it on her finger where it fit exactly. As best as she could see some sort of intricate solid goldwork surrounded the dark smooth dome of the stone, about the size of a large pea. Without a single diamond, it was nothing like any engagement ring she had ever seen and she never wanted to take it off.

"It looks so old. Is it from your family?"

"No, I made it for you. I thought you would like that design."

"I do. I love it. How did you know?"

"Conversations. Shopping," he added with mock innocence.

"Oh, so terrorizing the jewelry stores had an ulterior motive."

"It was a convenient coincidence."

"I'm sure it was. What's the stone?"

"Alexandrite from your rock, the same as your pendant."

"Will it work like the pendant and let me hear you?"

"Probably not. I do not think it is big enough."

Alia sighed, "I suppose I can't have everything. Still, I love it. It's perfect. And I love you, too." She kissed him for good measure.


	10. Chapter 10

Cara, determined not to be stranded at the party, had arranged to meet Hadrian there and drive her own car. "Just in case he tries something. I don't know what, but I'll be prepared."

This year the company had managed to reserve a club for the party since they were not actually holding it on New Year's Eve. That promised a slightly more entertaining time than if they had held it at a hotel and much better than if they had held it during the day at the office. Cara even found herself anticipating it a little. She had not gone out for any reason in a long time. However, she had not bothered to go out and buy a new dress for the party, instead just pulling out her old little black dress that all women are supposed to own. She had decided she was not going to dignify Hadrian with a new dress, no matter what the occasion.

Cara also found herself a little lonely with Alia gone home to spend the holiday with her parents, especially since Jareth had not stopped by in over a week. Even the little that Cara had seen of Alia had relieved the boredom of staring at the walls of the apartment.

"Nice dress."

"Speak of the devil," thought Cara. "Where have you been?" she asked Jareth, turning from her mirror where she was putting her earrings on.

"That makes a nice change from 'What are you doing here?' I had no idea you cared," Jareth answered her.

"I was only curious," she clarified. "You didn't show up last week for your usual update on my social life. What happened?"

"I was detained by a round robin on the fan fiction list. They usually turn out unpleasantly, but you haven't been doing much, so I had to divert myself somehow."

"That's too bad. You missed some news."

"Really?"

"Yes." Cara ignoring his curiosity, did not elaborate, but resumed putting on her jewelry.

"What was it?" Jareth finally asked after waiting for her to continue.

"I am going to the office holiday party. With Hadrian."

"How nice, fraternizing with coworkers," he began, playing with a few bangle bracelets sitting in a bowl on her dresser, then absorbed the second statement. "With whom!"

"Hadrian."

"You cannot possibly be serious."

"Yes, I am."

"But… you can't do that," Jareth stammered.

"Why not? Why do you care?"

"I don't. Neither did you, I thought. You have expressed nothing but disdain for this man and Maddie's plans from the beginning. And rightly so. Now suddenly you've surrendered to the enemy."

"I did no such thing. I'm only going to the party. And I'm only going with him because it gets him and Maddie off my back and I needed someone to go to the party with."

"So you suggested this?"

"No, he did. He wants to see Maddie's boyfriend."

"And you went along with it? Just like that?"

"Yes, I did. Just like that." His tone was starting to anger her. "I'm a big girl, Jareth. I can take care of myself. I had to do something to find out what he's up to."

"You mean you actually suspect he has other motives and you're still going with him? You're a bigger fool than I thought you were. I thought you had more sense than that."

"Get out," Cara said coldly.

He laughed at her. "How do you propose to enforce that order?" he asked with his head cocked alertly to one side.

"Jareth," she said in a low voice, "if you do not leave immediately I will put that computer back together and start taking your Labyrinth apart again. And now I know every thing that is in it, not just what's in the movie. Enforcement enough? Leave. Now."

"You're making a mistake. I warn you," he said as he disappeared.

.….

Cara had no chance to look for Hadrian's little black car outside the club because the company had engaged valet parking for the party. She put on the best face she could when she handed over the keys to her 15-year-old car held together with chewing gum and duct tape.

Hadrian had said he would wait outside for her, but she saw no sign of him near the door. She stood about for a moment, wondering if she should wait outside for him or go inside to the party.

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. I'm not waiting out here for him," she decided and turned to go inside.

Just as she reached for the door handle to pull the door open, someone pushed it from the inside. She moved back out of the way. From the noise level coming through the door, it sounded as if the party was well under way.

A group of people came through the door and it started to slowly swing closed behind them on its mechanism. Cara grabbed the edge to hold it while she darted around it and was startled to have another hand cover her fingers as it pushed the door open again. Her momentum around the door brought her face to face with its owner.

She looked up to see who she had narrowly avoided running into and found Hadrian.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I thought we were going to this party?"

"No, I mean what are you doing coming out of the club? I thought you were supposed to wait outside for me?"

"I went inside to check if Maddie was here yet. Why aren't you waiting outside?"

"I thought you could manage on your own. It's a little different for a woman to wait outside a club than it is for a man, you know. Is she here? Did you find her?"

"I didn't see her. Let's stop standing here in the door and go in," he suggested.

Once the door closed behind them, the club enveloped them, loud and dim, just as she had remembered it.

"Follow me. Looks like there's a table over here," Hadrian said.

Cara grabbed his coat sleeve so she wouldn't lose him in the crowd of people milling about and they threaded their way to a table near the wall. Hadrian helped her with her coat and she sat down.

"You want something to drink?" he asked.

"Just some water right now, thank you."

"All right. I'll be right back."

Cara looked around her to see what was going on and who came. Once her eyes adjusted she saw the usual office party decorations – streamers, balloons – clashing slightly with the slicker decorations of the club itself.

Hadrian came back with two glasses and set one in front of her, then sat next to her. His glass contained something dark, but she could not she could not identify more than that.

"No sign of Maddie yet," she commented. "We might as well mingle."

Cara wandered around the room, joining this conversation or that, avoiding groups of people that she disliked here and there. She finished her water and made her way to the bar to drop off the empty glass. She turned around, deciding to dance a while, and looked for Hadrian. He was nowhere to be seen. Now that she thought about it, she did not remember seeing him for a while. She smiled and congratulated herself on losing him somewhere in the crowd.

She had been dancing for quite a while when he reappeared.

"May I cut in?" he asked her nonexistent current partner.

"Find Maddie yet?" Cara asked.

"No, not yet. I think she's not coming."

"It's early yet. Where'd you get off to?"

"Talking to people."

"Well, don't let me stop you."

"I'm finding dancing with you much more entertaining."

"I'm sorry to deprive you then, but I think it's time for a breather for me. I'm not used to this anymore."

"Whatever you want to do."

On the way to the table she stopped to get something to drink, but stayed away from alcohol. She had to stay coherent to keep an eye on Hadrian. Once back at the table, they sat in awkward relative silence as Cara caught her breath. Cara could not think of anything to say worth the effort of making herself heard over the loud music.

Conveniently one of the other people Cara worked with in computer support stopped by their table.

"I'm surprised to see you here," he said to Hadrian. "After all the places you were talking about having visited, our company party must be pretty tame."

"Every activity has its own attractions," Hadrian answered.

A blonde Cara did not recognize slid up and pulled on the coworker's arm. He excused himself, leaving Cara and Hadrian alone again.

"Traveling would be nice," Cara commented. "One of these days I'm going to make enough money to do that."

"Where do you plan to go?"

"Everywhere. England, Italy, France, the Caribbean."

"I've lived in Europe. I have a house in England and another one in southern France."

"Why do you do a job like this and live here if you have that?"

"It amuses me. I get bored. So I do this. I meet people I wouldn't otherwise. You get tired of traveling in the same circles all the time, hearing the same stories and gossip all the time."

"What's it like living there?" Cara asked.

He began telling her about his houses and she unconsciously leaned closer to him in an effort to hear him and read his lips. When she lifted her glass and found it empty, he suggested they go dance again.

"All right. I wonder what happened to Maddie?"

"You'll have to ask her when you see her Monday."

They danced until slower, quieter music began to play. The dance floor started to empty and Cara turned to follow them, eager to hear more about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. "Let's sit this one out," she suggested.

"No, let's not," Hadrian contradicted as he caught her arm.

"But I want to sit down and talk while I can hear."

"We can talk here," he said, pulling her closer to speak in her ear. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Tell me more about Europe." She did not like his moves, but thought herself safe enough as long as she kept him distracted.

"You'd like it, especially southern France. Everyone claims ties to the old nobility of the last century," he told her in a low voice. "Some are rich. Some are poor looking for someone with money to make them rich in exchange for the name or title."

"Are you related to old nobility?" Cara asked slowly, wanting him to continue.

"Everyone who is anyone knows their family tree and has a noble in their closet somewhere. They are all just one step away from a throne. If only one person had behaved differently they'd be ruling now, they say."

Hadrian continued to describe the people and places in a low voice directly in her ear, weaving pictures in her mind. She could see the sun-filled beaches, the drowsy flower-filled gardens, the colorful whirls of sight and sound where the chic population of the Riviera met. He wound Cara up in his descriptions until the music changed and the dance floor filled with people again.

"You'll have to come to see it sometime," Hadrian invited as he led Cara back to the table.

Cara nodded placidly and sat down.

"You look tired. It's getting late. Do you want to leave now?" Hadrian asked her.

"Yes, I think so," Cara answered him.

Hadrian helped her put on her coat and shepherded her to the door. As the door closed behind her Cara clutched her coat around her against the cold air. She gave her valet ticket to Hadrian who handed it with his to the attendant.

"Do you want me to follow you home?" he asked as they waited.

"No, thanks. I'll be fine. It's not far."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Don't bother." That was the last thing she wanted – for him to follow her to her apartment.

The attendants came back with their cars and they separated. Cara drove home glancing occasionally at her mirrors to check that he did not follow her home anyway. By the time she got home, Cara had developed a splitting headache and ringing ears and went straight to bed.

.….

"I've got her. Now, it's a matter of setting the hook." Hadrian paused for a question from the other end of the line. "No, I found her a while ago." He paced the floor of the barely furnished apartment while the other party issued a complaint. "Yes, I know you expect reports." He rolled his eyes impatiently.

"No, I haven't seen anyone else. I followed her home tonight for the first time. She seemed to live alone." He slouched into a chair negligently and stared out the window at the night skyline of the city.

"No, she doesn't suspect anything. I know what I'm doing." He cut off the next lecture as it started, rolling his eyes. "And I know what I need to do next. You wouldn't be using me to do this if I didn't, now would you?" he soothed sweetly, all the while getting more and more impatient with whole conversation.

"Yes, yes, I'll call as soon as I have anything further to report to you." He turned off the cellular phone with a beep and muttered, "Interfering imbecile."

.….

When Cara awoke the next morning a glance at her clock told her that it no longer qualified as morning. Then she realized that although her ears were no longer ringing, she still had a headache. "No more loud music for me," she thought with a groan and put a pillow over her head. "I feel like I have a hangover and I didn't even drink anything. Hangovers without the fun the night before. It's not fair."

"What's not fair?" Jareth asked from the vicinity of her doorway.

"Are you summoned any time someone says anything that resembles a line from the movie?" she demanded, looking at him from under her pillow.

"No, I came to apologize."

"You?" Cara sat up. "An apology? Really?"

"Yes. I shouldn't have insulted you."

"No, you shouldn't have. Disagreeing is one thing, insulting is another. Apology accepted, though."

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"It was all right. Pretty much the usual for an office party, but the club improved things. I've got a killer headache now though."

"Drink a little more than was good for you?"

"No, that's just it. I didn't drink at all. That's what's not fair. It must have been the loud music. Shoo. I need to get up and get dressed."

Jareth retreated amiably to the couch in the living room. "Did you learn his motive?"

"No, I didn't learn anything except that he's richer than I thought and has a house in England and France," Cara called out from her room. "Maddie didn't even show up."

"Ah. That is a pity. A headache with absolutely nothing to show for it." He changed the subject. "Have you heard from Alia? When does she come back?"

"No, I haven't. She'll probably be back when she can't stand her family anymore. That's the way it usually works." Cara padded past the couch on her way to the kitchen, pulling a sweatshirt on over her t-shirt and jeans. "She has a while off from school – a week or so into January. So, it could be a while. Why'd you want to know?"

"No reason. Just curious."


	11. Chapter 11

Jareth showed up again Monday night as Cara was heating herself a frozen dinner.

"Back so soon, Jareth? No changes in my social life to report."

"I thought I would visit more frequently, that you might be lonely with Alia still away at home."

"But she's back now. Have you heard the news?"

"What's that?"

"Tieran asked Alia to marry him and she accepted."

"I thought they had settled that already?"

"Not formally. It was more like dating, I guess." Cara started loading dishes from the sink into the dishwasher.

"That's not dating. Dating is when you meet people. Different people. Plural."

"Advanced stages of dating then. He's not like you, Jareth. And neither is Alia. If he was, Alia wouldn't have fallen for him. I think you scare her a little, actually. Tieran's much more stable, monogamous."

"I could be monogamous if I wanted to."

"But you don't want to, do you? You're like a lion – you have to have a pride of women to rule, like your Listians. Tieran is closer to a wolf. They mate for life, you know. A pair stays together until one of them dies." Cara paused thoughtfully with a handful of silverware. "Only maybe that's not a good analogy because he's not a member of a pack really. I've been watching the Animal Channel too much." She shook her head and waved the silverware to banish the thought. "Anyway, he doesn't work the same way you do. What's their love life matter to you, anyway?"

"Well, yours is lacking in entertainment value lately."

"And it's likely to stay that way, thank you. And if it changes I doubt you'll be hearing about it." Cara closed the dishwasher and took her dinner into the living room.

"Where is Alia now?" Jareth looked around the apartment as he followed Cara back into the living room. "You said she was back, but I assume she's not here since you're eating alone."

"She's off with Tieran somewhere, as usual. No, wait. That's later this evening. Now she's trying to study at the library. Probably not getting very far. Hey, I've got something to show you." Cara jumped up out of her chair and ran to her room.

"Look, look, look! I can spin three of them now. I've been practicing," she said as she walked back into the living room with a handful of crystals. She tossed two of them to Jareth without looking to see if he caught them and started rolling the remaining one on her hand. "I can't quite get it to roll from one side to the other yet, though," she said as it hit the carpet with a dull thud.

"You are making excellent progress, though. Keep practicing."

.….

Cara slammed the front door to the apartment and threw her purse in the corner.

"What's the matter?" Alia asked, shocked.

"Everything! I let myself be suckered into going to a play with Hadrian, my purse strap broke, I just ripped my favorite blouse, and I've got another one of those damn headaches. It just won't go away. I've tried three different painkillers already and it's still there," she whined on the verge of tears as she flopped down in a chair and held her head together.

"Another headache?" Jareth asked from the couch.

Cara noticed him for the first time and groaned, "You're the last person I want to see right now."

"Could it be a relapse?" Alia asked.

"I don't think it's a relapse – I never had headaches like this before."

"No, it can't be a relapse," Jareth declared. "The peach will have cured that once and for all. This will be caused by something else. Perhaps you should see a doctor about it."

"Really? Gee, I never thought of that. I just wish it would go away."

"Anything to improve your mood. Hold still," Jareth told her as he sat up and reached for her head.

"Wait a minute," she said waving him away. "What are you going to do?"

"I think he's trying to help, Cara."

"Exactly. Now hold still." He placed his hands on either side of her head and ran his thumbs with slight pressure along her forehead just above her eyebrows. He rubbed her temples, then repeated the process several times. "Better?"

"Yes, that helps some."

He began rubbing her shoulders and neck. "What about that?"

"Mm, helps."

"There. Gone?"

"Mostly. How'd you know to do that?"

"I would get headaches like that from concentrating when I was younger."

"Concentrating? On what? I haven't been concentrating on anything."

Jareth thought a moment. "I was concentrating on magic, learning magic at the time."

"Maybe it's just a tension headache," Alia offered.

"Whatever, it's almost gone now."

"Now, what did you say about going to a play?" Jareth asked.

"I swear I said no. I wasn't going to go. Then the next thing I knew, he was setting up a time to pick me up. Somehow things made sense when he said them, but they don't now."

"Well, it's just a play," Alia said. "Next time, you'll know not to listen to him. No big deal."

"Yeah, no big deal."

.….

Cara crunched through the gravel parking lot of the small theater. The play had just finished.

"Did you enjoy it?" Hadrian asked her.

"Yes, I did." And she had. She surprised herself by admitting that she had genuinely enjoyed the play. Called _Desk Set_, it had been about a group of women proving their worth over the newly invented computer.

Hadrian opened her door for her and closed it behind her. Getting in on the driver's side of his little sports car, he said, "What do you say we go get something to eat?"

Cara looked at her watch dubiously. "It's 10:30 now, by the time we get anywhere it'll be 11:00. What's going to be open at this time of night?"

"We'll find something," he said sunnily, taking Cara's question as an agreement.

They found a Denny's open all night.

"Will this do?"

"Whatever. You're the one who wants to eat," Cara told him.

Hadrian ordered a huge ice cream sundae and insisted Cara order something as well, even though she was not hungry. She ordered a small dish of vanilla ice cream to make him happy.

She played with her dessert and watched him eat his.

"I have another offer for you," he said between bites.

"What's that?" Cara asked, on her guard.

"In a few weeks the opera opens its next performance. I have four tickets to it. Do you know two people who would be interested in going to it?"

"What are you doing with the other two tickets?" Cara was afraid she already knew the answer.

"I assumed you would come with me and your two friends. You do know two people who would be interested?" Hadrian looked at her intently.

Tieran and Alia popped into Cara's head. This sounded like something right up their alley. She debated whether to volunteer them. "If only this headache would go away, I'd be able to think," she thought as she rubbed her forehead absentmindedly. "I know two people who might be interested. When is it?"

"The Saturday before Valentine's Day. If they're a couple, it's the perfect romantic date."

"That's exactly the problem. 'The perfect romantic date.'" Cara thought.

"Do you think they'll be free, your friends? I'm sure they'd change their plans for free tickets to the opera. They're very good seats."

"I don't know." Cara's naturally dark skin paled and she pushed her dish away from her – the melted puddle in the bottom was making her ill. She rubbed at her temples trying to ease the headache.

"Let's plan on them coming, shall we? They can always change things later. It's a very good opera. _Turandot_. Be sure to tell them that."

"All right," Cara agreed absentmindedly, distracted by the pain.

"I brought you a gift," Hadrian said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small hinged box then set it front of her.

"What is it?" she asked, leaving the box sitting on the table and eyeing it as if it were a venomous snake. Only one thing came in a little square box like that.

"Think of it as a late Christmas present. Open it."

Reluctantly Cara picked up the box and opened it. Inside rested a gold ring bearing an apple green stone.

"It's a ring," she said numbly. "How nice. Thank you."

"Try it on."

She did as requested. "It fits."

"Good." Hadrian smiled widely. "You can wear it to the opera."

Cara nodded slightly, lips pressed together in a tight straight line. "Can we go?"

"What's the matter? Don't you feel well?"

"Just a headache. I'll be fine. I just need to go home."

"Then we will go." Hadrian left money on the table and ushered her to the door. He helped her into the car and she laid her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes as he fastened her seatbelt for her. He drove her back to her apartment.

"Can I help you upstairs?"

"Definitely not. You're not coming anywhere near my apartment," she thought. "No, I'll be fine." She dug in her purse for her keys while he came around to open her door again.

"Thank you," she told him as she got out.

"You're welcome. Call me about the opera tickets," he requested as she made her way toward the stairs.

"Yeah, sure."

Cara climbed the stairs and entered her apartment without looking back. If she had, she would have seen Hadrian sitting on the fender of his car watching her with a satisfied smile on his face. Things were going just as he had planned.

"How was the play last night?" Alia asked Cara.

Cara poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat at the kitchen table with Alia before answering. "I enjoyed it." She gingerly sipped her juice.

"Have you got another one of those headaches?"

"Yeah, no big deal. It'll go away eventually."

"If it makes you this tense every time, maybe you should quit going places with Hadrian."

"What makes you think it's him?"

"Nothing, it's just that the last time you had one you had talked to him that day."

"Well, it's too late now."

"What? Are you engaged or something?"

"No!" Cara answered immediately, horrified. "Where'd you get that idea?"

"You said it's too late now. I thought you meant you'd committed to seeing a lot of him."

"No, he just asked me to something else. And I, of course, agreed see about it." She sipped more juice. "Actually, it concerns you, too. He has four tickets to the opera and wants me to ask friends if they want to go. It sounds like something right up your alley. He said it was called _Turandot_. Would you and Tieran want to go?"

"Sounds interesting to me. I'd have to ask Tieran if he had anything planned. When is it?"

"It's a couple weeks away, the Saturday before Valentine's."

Alia called to Tieran and, once he appeared, explained the situation to him while Cara drank her juice and rubbed her temples.

"It sounds as if it would be enjoyable. I had thought of something else to do that weekend, but we will be able to work around it. Is something wrong, Cara?" He had watched her out of the corner of his eye while Alia explained the situation.

"Headache," Alia told him.

"Alia thinks it's because I tense up around Hadrian. Jareth fixed the last one by rubbing my head and shoulders, but it's not working this time."

"Do you know anything to do about it?" Alia asked Tieran. "She says nothing works on them. We can't exactly summon Jareth every time she gets one. He happened to be here last time."

"Perhaps. Have you tried doing what he did last time?" he asked Alia.

"Me? No, I haven't."

Tieran sat in front of Cara and looked at her eyes as he held her head. "I do not think it is simply tension that is causing these headaches. I think someone, apparently Hadrian, has been influencing you, trying to control what you think. These headaches are your reaction to it."

"Then why did Jareth think she was just tense? And why did the headache go away?"

"He must have subconsciously used magic to relieve it for her. If he left his gloves on, he would not have felt the aftereffects of it when he touched her."

"So the question is, why is Hadrian leaning on me?"

"Leaning on you?" The term confused Tieran.

"Trying to manipulate me. The term was used in a novel I read about telepaths. They used it for trying to influence someone like that. It was frowned on."

"And it should be. Is there anything at work that you know about that he would want to know?"

Cara shook her head easily now that he had taken care of her headache. "No, nothing that he wouldn't be able to get to himself. I only have access to the general system really, not any of the private stuff. He says he's there to analyze the computer system, so he'd probably have just as much or more access than I do."

"Then whatever it is, it must be personal."

.….

Hadrian stared out the window of his high-rise apartment again. He focused on nothing in particular, eyes glazed, mind elsewhere, not paying much attention to the view of the city or the phone conversation he was having.

"Yes, I've got her now. She will do anything I want. She'll come and she'll bring her friends. It was child's play," he said. "It's set for the day we talked about. Be sure to have everything ready. If you manage your part, you will have exactly what you want."

His mind wandered from the voice on the phone again. "And if you don't have things ready, don't expect help from me," he thought. The success of this plan didn't matter to him. Loud praise from the other end of the line brought him back to the conversation, the female voice reproduced shrilly by the cellular phone.

"I will see you in a few weeks," Hadrian told his business associate and turned off the phone. "As if your praise matters to me, you insufferable twit." He tossed the phone on the table.

"The only thing making this whole effort worthwhile is the prospect of the entertainment it will provide. I only hope it lives up to expectations."


	12. Chapter 12

After several anxious weeks of speculation about Hadrian's schemes, the night of the opera finally arrived. At Cara's insistence they had arranged to meet at the restaurant for dinner before the opera instead of letting Hadrian pick her up. Now that she had real reason to suspect him, she did not want to be alone with him and she saw no reason for him to pick up only her when Alia and Tieran would be coming, as well. 

On the way from the restaurant to the opera house, Cara asked Tieran what he thought about Hadrian.

"I do not think he is from around here – your world, I mean."

"Does that mean he's from yours?" Alia asked.

Tieran shrugged. "There are other worlds besides our two."

Everyone enjoyed the opera, despite waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then, walking to the parking lot again, Hadrian made another suggestion.

"A friend of mine is having a party tonight. Would you all like to join me at it?"

"Won't this be kind of late to come to a party?" Cara asked.

"No." Hadrian shook his head. "She went to the opera, too. It won't start until she gets there. She won't mind you coming along, so don't worry about that." He looked at them all intently.

Tieran could feel him "leaning," as Cara put it. Hadrian wanted them to go to this party. He need not have bothered trying to influence anyone but Cara, because Alia would not leave her and Tieran would not leave Alia. Tieran looked at Cara to see what effect it was having on her. She frowned a little and withdrew into herself, concentrating on dealing with the pain. Tieran took pity on Cara and answered for all of them.

"I think I could manage a party for a little while."

"Excellent. Follow me."

Tieran herded Cara back to Alia's car and they followed Hadrian out of town into a posh neighborhood. Along the way Tieran did what he could for Cara's headache. They pulled into a gated driveway and drove up to a large house.

"All right, if I wasn't suspicious before, I would be now. Where are the rest of the cars?" Alia asked rhetorically as she looked at the driveway empty except for their two cars. "Maybe we should leave."

"I do not think we would be able to. I think he would persuade us to stay."

"Can't you just pop us out of here?" Alia asked.

"I am not sure what he can do. I know he is able to 'lean' on me. He might be able to read thoughts, as well."

"So he'd know about it before we did it and change your mind," Cara said. "Then we'd better get out of the car and at least try to look normal. He's heading this way."

"Looks like we're the first ones here." He greeted them with one of his charming smiles as they got out of the car.

"Is your friend here yet?" Cara asked.

"If she isn't we'll just wait for her, she won't mind. Let's go in."

The butler led them from the entryway down a hall to a room at its far end. The man opened the door to the room and left, leaving Hadrian to usher them into the room. They entered the room, a large, white-walled box, barren of furniture, windows, or doors.

"What happened to the furniture? Are we in the right room?" Alia asked, just as Hadrian shut the door behind them.

"This is the right room," Hadrian answered her, his demeanor changing from charming to threatening before their eyes.

"What do you want?" Tieran demanded.

"For a start – you," Hadrian answered simply as Tieran disappeared.

"What did you do with him?" Alia demanded.

"What did it look like I did with him? I took him someplace else, of course."

"Bring him back," Cara demanded.

"Is that a threat, Cara? Or you'll do what?" Hadrian laughed at her. "You do exactly what I want you to do."

Alia flew at Hadrian with no clear idea what it would accomplish. Cara tried to stop her, but before she said anything Hadrian froze Alia in mid-stride.

"You see? What will you do?"

"Let her go."

Walking around Alia's still form, he said, "So what does he see in her? Hmm? Anything I should know about? Perhaps I should keep her this way for later."

"Let her go," Cara repeated.

"But you're so much less trouble this way. No inane questions. No noise. No violence. Just a simple form, a statue." Hadrian sighed. "But you're so boring this way, as well."

Alia staggered as he released her and immediately began trying to call Jareth to help them.

"Go ahead, call him. The more, the merrier."

Jareth appeared next to Alia. "What are you panicking about? It sounded like you said Tieran had been kidnapped. I assure you I had nothing to do with it."

"Welcome to our little party, Your Highness," Hadrian greeted him in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm afraid the cause of the little thing's panic would be me."

Jareth turned and glared at him. "Do I know you?"

"I doubt it. You may call me Hadrian."

"So all of this has just been a plot so that you could kidnap Tieran?" Cara spluttered.

"Simplifying it for you, yes."

"What do you want with Tieran?" Alia demanded.

"Nothing."

"Then why –" Jareth began.

"I was working on behalf of another, who should be joining us at any moment."

As if on cue, the lights in the room dimmed, leaving them in total darkness. Cara resisted the impulse to move closer to where she had last seen Jareth standing. "It's just theatrics," she told herself. "No need to go all helpless female over it."

A flash of light lit up a large window across the room. A few moments later they heard a peal of thunder, followed closely by another lightning flash that briefly lit the room. Cara spied Jareth and Alia standing near her, between her and not a window, but a set of glass doors. Rain and branches began to lash against the panes of the door.

With another flash of lightning, the doors broke open in a gust of wind and rain. Alia glimpsed something white dart through the opening as she ducked against the rain and leaves blowing through it. The wind died and the clouds cleared, allowing moonlight to flood the room as they all looked up.

Hadrian lay on a bed in the room, which looked familiar.

"The Goblin King himself. What a wonderful surprise! You have really exceeded my expectations, Hadrian," exclaimed a voice from near the window.


	13. Chapter 13

Cara stepped forward to see around Jareth. Seeing the silhouette against the window, she realized where she had seen the room before. Black against the pale curtains stood a slender cloaked figure with spiked hair. If Jareth had not been standing next to her leaning on the crib, she might have thought he was standing there. Looking closer, Cara could see that the figure was female to match the distinctly feminine voice she had heard.

Alia, who stood between Jareth and his counterpart, backed away from the woman.

"Leaving so soon, Alia? But we have so much to catch up on."

Jareth laughed. "Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, Caereh, but is this really necessary?"

"Absolutely," Caereh said as she began to slink and sway toward Jareth. Cara could see, as the dark-haired woman came closer, that she wore much the same costume Jareth's character had worn in the movie. She had even cut and styled her hair to match his and wore long black gloves.

"But this isn't flattery, darling." She reached out to run a finger along Jareth's pendant. "It's revenge."

"Revenge on whom?" Jareth demanded, swatting her hand away.

"Tieran. And Alia here, of course. And this must be Cara." Caereh turned her attention from Alia who now stood behind Jareth. "She must be included – I wouldn't want her to feel left out. You are a bonus, as I said. I never expected you to show up, so you were not included in my original plans, but they can easily be expanded to accommodate you as well as the other three."

"Do not presume to threaten me, Caereh. You have no power and are no match for me."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that, Jareth. Hadrian is quite a match for you and he is working for me. He was able to capture Tieran quite easily and I think you will find that he has you as well. If you think you can, by all means leave now, don't stand on ceremony."

Jareth paused a moment then glared at Hadrian still reclining on the bed. Hadrian smiled with cruel amusement.

"Having technical difficulties, Jareth?"

Jareth flicked his wrist as though to produce a crystal, but with no results.

"Now that we've established that, let's get on to business, shall we?" Caereh began to prowl back and forth in front of the doors still opened onto the night, then stopped in front of Alia.

"Because of you and Tieran, they kept me in the hospital for over a week before I could persuade them that I was sane. That was when I began making my plans." She walked over to Cara.

"And you destroyed my computer and ruined my company. I don't know how you did it, but it had to be you. I don't think it was Tieran and it certainly wasn't her." She dismissed the possibility that Alia had the ability to even use a computer.

"I had help," Cara said.

"Then I will find them and punish them, too."

"I think you will find that difficult," Jareth told her.

Caereh wheeled on Jareth. "Don't you worry about her. You have the most to account for. If you had done as I asked, none of the rest of this would have mattered. What would I care for an animation company and imitations of the Labyrinth if I had the real thing? And I would never have been taken to the hospital, never subjected to that humiliation."

She resumed pacing. "The one thing you forgot to consider was the possibility that I might have my own personal computer with its own copy of the programming. A program with even more capabilities than the one you destroyed. A program able to animate a human from our world and place him into the computer or take a character or scene from the computer and make it a reality in our world."

"That's not possible," Cara protested.

"Isn't it? Have you looked around you? Where do you think you are right now? You know the room didn't look like this when you came in."

"What did you do with Tieran?" The words came out in a rush as Alia found the courage to speak up for the first time.

"Oh, don't you worry about him. I won't let him come to any harm. He's mine. Unless..." A thought seemed to occur to Caereh. "Unless a substitute cares to volunteer?" She looked significantly at Jareth.

"He'll never volunteer for that," thought Alia. "And I can't blame him. But then how do I get Tieran back?"

"I have another idea," Hadrian broke in as he rose from the bed. "You were putting the two young women in the computer to go through the Labyrinth anyway, weren't you?"

"Yes. So?"

"And you expected them to make it through in the thirteen hours in order to win their freedom. Correct?"

"I expected them not to make it through in thirteen hours and not win their freedom, but close enough."

"So up the stakes. Send the three of them," he gestured to Jareth, Alia, and Cara, "through to win the freedom of all four of them or remain trapped forever. Or until you tire of them, whichever comes first."

"I don't see what I get out of that."

"You get the Goblin King," Hadrian spoke in a low voice directly into Caereh's ear.

Cara recognized that tone – he was leaning on Caereh, just as he had leaned on her. Why would he do that?

"What are the chances of him making it through your Labyrinth without his powers? He's so used to relying on them I'll bet he doesn't even dress himself without them anymore."

"That's true," Caereh agreed, then turned petulant. "But why should I risk losing what I already have?"

"But it's not a risk. You said it before. They won't make it. You know it, I know it, only they don't know it yet. You have to give them something to reach for or they won't play. How much fun would it be if they just sat there? None at all. Give them an incentive and they'll be much more satisfying."

"Oh, all right. We'll do it your way. But I'd better not lose. You'll regret it," Caereh threatened him.

"Go ahead and threaten me, you self-centered primate. I'll enjoy seeing you try to back it up," Hadrian thought then turned to the objects of the discussion. "Is everyone clear on the rules? Just as in the movie, make it to the center of the Labyrinth in thirteen hours or become a member of it."

"Forever," Caereh added.

"Such a pity," Cara muttered.

"We have no choice in this?" Jareth asked.

"Jareth!" Alia exclaimed. "You wouldn't!"

"No, you don't," Caereh responded.

"When do we start?" Cara asked as she started walking for the French doors.

"First you have to be transferred to the computer."

"Then what's this?"

"This is constructed by the computer in the real world, but the Labyrinth is too large. It would require too much space and too many resources."

"Oh." Cara faced the prospect of being transferred into the computer with trepidation. Jareth had survived it, but he was, well, whatever he was. And he had had his magic.

"Let's get it over with, then," Alia said.

The next thing Cara knew she stood on the hill outside the Labyrinth watching the sun rise. She looked herself over to make sure all of her had made it. As far as she could see she still had all of her parts, though she felt as though she had left something behind. "I feel all hollow inside. I guess that makes sense. Why animate it if you can't see it?" she thought and looked down at the long skirt she had worn to the opera. "I wonder if that means I don't have all of my legs?" She took a few steps forward. "Works like I do, anyway."

Cara turned to Alia, who was also exploring her new condition. "How do I look?" Cara asked, posing like an action figure.

"Pretty cool," Alia answered. "Except for the dress. Lara Croft wouldn't get far in these things." Both of them had worn dresses to the opera, highly appropriate for that setting, but just as highly impractical for the task at hand in this setting. Jareth on the other hand, wearing his usual wardrobe, could get by easily.

"Yeah." Cara looked around. "Um, Caereh, could we have a costume change? Please?"

"Oh, I suppose. You have thirteen hours," Caereh answered irritably and vanished.

Instantly Cara found herself dressed in jeans, a blouse, and a vest, just like Sarah's character in the movie. "Cool, thanks."

She looked over at Alia, who now wore the exact same thing. "We're twinkies!"

"Yes, how nice," Jareth answered dryly.

Cara and Alia looked at him. His wardrobe had been changed – he now wore computer-generated jeans, an ivory blouse, and a floral vest, as well. He scowled and Cara tried to control herself, but almost lost it. "Hold still," she told him with a cough to try to cover it.

She reached up and removed the barrette from his hair and then could not hold it any longer and burst into a fit of laughter.

"It could be worse you know," Cara told him when she caught her breath. "She could have dressed you as Toby. Or Hoggle. This really isn't much different from what you usually wear."

"I am glad you find my taste in clothing so amusing." He was in a foul mood and not about to let them get off easily after laughing at him.

Cara groaned. "Caereh, could you please do something for him? We won't get anywhere as long as he's like this and you'll want to keep him happy later."

A put upon sigh shivered through the air around them and Jareth's clothing changed colors.

"I think that's all you're getting. Happy?"

Jareth looked down at himself now dressed completely in black. "It will have to do," he grudgingly admitted and began to tuck the loose shirt into his jeans.

.….

Tieran found himself surrounded by impenetrable darkness, completely isolated, unable to see, hear or feel anything around him.

_"Where am I then? What did he do to me?"_

_"It's really quite simple. I have transferred you to a computer,"_ Hadrian's voice told him.

_"A computer?"_

_"At this point you are a collection of electrons in the bowels of Caereh's computer."_

_"Caereh's computer?" _Aside from the initial disorientation, Tieran found the whole transfer process much less painful than he would have expected – had he expected to be converted to bits and bytes in a computer's memory which, of course, he had not. Trust Jareth to overreact melodramatically_ "W__hy am I here? How long are you keeping me here?"_

Hadrian did not answer. Tieran was alone again.

Hours or seconds later – he had no frame of reference for the passage of time – the computer loaded him into an animated setting, a stone-walled room that, after a moment, he recognized as the throne room of Jareth's castle. Remembering his last arrival in the real version of the room – Jareth had unceremoniously dumped him on the throne room floor – Tieran congratulated himself on a smoother arrival this time.

Surprisingly, it had been a much cleaner throne room floor, he noticed as he looked around him. Apparently even computer-generated goblins created computer-generated filth that Caereh couldn't control. He turned to face the throne, where Caereh sat with none of Jareth's ease or nonchalance.

She sat rigidly upright on the throne with her arms resting on the curved horns forming the smooth sweep of the arms and back. She wore a version of Jareth's costume from the movie, the animation allowing her to paint the armor and tights on a computer-enhanced figure. "Why miss an opportunity to make yourself look good?" thought Tieran.

"How did you get your computer back?" Tieran demanded. "I thought Cara disassembled it."

"I am doing fine, thank you, Tieran. And how are you?"

"A kidnapping is no place for pleasantries. Why am I here?"

"Because I want you here, of course."

"Of course. And why do you want me here?"

"Revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Revenge on you and your accomplices. As I told your companions, I spent too much time in a hospital as a result of your little stunt. You will not humiliate me and take my company and computers from me without paying for it." Caereh leaned forward on the throne.

"You rejected me before, now you will have no choice. You will stay in this computer simulation. You will do as I want. Run when I say, walk when I say, eat when I say."

"Unless his companions win."

Tieran looked to his left to notice Hadrian leaning against an archway in front of a flight of stairs.

"Which they won't," Caereh asserted.

"Alia and Cara? Win what?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Hadrian scoffed. "You're in my Labyrinth. Unless they find their way through it, you will remain here forever."


	14. Chapter 14

Alia, Cara and Jareth stood in front of the wall at the foot of the hill and contemplated its slick surface.

"This didn't translate well at all. It's not right," Cara observed.

"No, it looks nothing like the real outer wall," agreed Jareth.

"It's too shiny and new," Cara continued.

"It lacks the air of age and impassiveness that even the wall in the movie had. This one is almost cheerful."

Alia lost patience. "Oh, enough with the critique already. We're wasting time. How do we get into the thing? I don't see a door anywhere."

"No, neither do I. There wasn't one in the movie, either," Cara said as she shooed away a fairy.

"How did Sarah get in?"

"The dwarf showed her," Jareth answered quietly.

"Well, I don't see one of them either. Now what?"

"Now we have to ask the right question," Cara answered Alia, remembering the movie.

Jareth obliged her. "How do we get into the Labyrinth?"

"'We gets in there,'" Cara said pointing at the wall at random. They all followed her finger and looked at the gate that had appeared in the wall.

"You seem to know an awful lot about the movie for only having seen it a few times," Alia commented as they walked toward the gate.

"I've been studying it. I had to do something while you were gone for Christmas. I was trying to figure out what all those people on that list of his saw in it."

As the trio approached the gates they swung open with a groan. Jareth walked boldly through them, while Alia and Cara hesitated in the gateway looking around cautiously.

"Cozy, isn't it?"

"Not really," Alia answered Cara.

"Will you be doing that for the next thirteen hours?" Jareth asked.

"Doing what?" Alia was lost.

"Quoting the movie."

"That depends on several things," Cara answered Jareth.

"Such as?"

"Whether it takes thirteen hours to get through this, for one," Cara said as she looked around

"And the others?"

"How much it annoys you." She turned to Jareth and grinned.

"I see."

"Do we go left or right?" Alia asked, interrupting their conversation.

Cara and Jareth both turned around and looked at Alia as if she had just grown another head.

"What?" Alia asked defensively.

"That was a quote from the movie," Cara explained.

"I've watched it, too. How do you think I recognized yours? So which way do we go? I think she went right in the movie. Do we follow that?"

"Well, it worked for getting in. Maybe we'll be able to follow it all along and this will be even quicker than we think."

"But why would she make it that easy?" Alia objected.

"Maybe she couldn't think of anything else. Don't ask so many questions. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Just take the break and run with it. Let's go right."

"Going left would be shorter," Jareth pointed out.

"But she doesn't know that, does she? That's in your Labyrinth, not the movie," Cara said.

"So we really don't have any good reason to go either direction," Alia summarized.

"By going to the right we could verify Cara's theory," Jareth conceded.

"Then let's go right," Alia decided.

"Should we run?" Alia asked a minute later.

"I sincerely hope not," Jareth said.

"How far do we have to go before we find the worm?" Alia asked.

"I don't know," Cara answered. "Should we be looking for side openings?"

"Not if we're looking for the worm," Alia pointed out. "Wouldn't be any point to finding them if we weren't going to use them."

"That's true."

Inside the Labyrinth, too, the walls had changed. The clean, straight bricks ran smooth and level, building walls with no hollows or sags. No weeds or saplings grew in the nonexistent cracks. The sloped floor of the passage had been swept clean. No drifts of leaves in the corners, no fallen branches to climb over. The lichen no longer grew at random where it could find a foothold on the wall. Now it grew in supplied wall sconces, placed regularly along the walls, making them look like a cross between a pot of petunias and a sentry.

As it turned out, they had no difficulty finding the worm. He no longer lived in a crack in the wall, but had house with a tidy little front door. It reminded Alia of old cartoons she had seen where the mice had front doors to their holes and little mouse hotels and bars down the street, complete with awnings, shrubbery, and red carpets.

Cara and Jareth had not yet noticed it and Alia had turned to point it out to them when a small voice said, "Good morning."

The worm, also, had undergone a makeover. This larger, sleeker, fatter worm had an all around air of greater prosperity. Instead of the little red woolen winter scarf, he wore a red silk scarf pinned with a stick pin. The blue tufts of hair that should have stood out from his head had been trimmed and tamed and were neatly slicked back.

"Did you just say 'Good morning?'" Jareth asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Shouldn't that have been 'Allo?" Cara asked.

"Whatever for?"

"No reason," Cara answered him. This definitely was not the worm she had expected.

"Do you know the way through this labyrinth?" Alia asked hesitantly, uncertain how this new worm would react.

Apparently similarly programmed, he said, "No, I'm afraid not. I'm a stay-at-home worm. Wonderful day for a stroll for you, though. Would you like to take a break? Come inside and meet my wife. Have some coffee."

"No, thank you," Jareth responded for them. Alia had to admit to herself that, any other time, she would have been tempted to accept just to see what Mrs. Worm looked like.

Jareth continued, "We must solve this labyrinth, but we haven't found any turns or openings in this corridor. Are there any? Did we turn the wrong way?"

"There's one directly across the way there."

"Do you know where it leads?"

"Left and right. I've been told that the left one leads directly to the castle and the right one leads further into the Labyrinth, but I've not been far enough in myself to see anything."

"That would agree with the movie," Cara said.

"Then let's take the short cut," Alia said.

"Thank you for your information. You've been very helpful," Jareth told the worm.

"Oh, my pleasure. You're sure you won't stop for a minute?"

"Thank you very much, but we couldn't. We have a deadline to meet, and I'm afraid we'd never fit in your little house," Alia told him.

"That's too bad really. Do come back sometime when you have more time. Enjoy your walk," he called after them as they turned down the left passage.

"My, my," he said once they had gone around the corner out of earshot. "I do believe I may have given them the wrong information. Now was it really the left way that led straight to the castle, or was it the right? Now that I think of it, it may have been – yes, yes, it was – the right passage. Whatever will they do?" he continued with much innocence. "Ah, well, all roads lead to the castle... eventually," he said with a hint of a smile.

.….

"They just passed my worm. And they took the long way. Good," Caereh reported, watching a crystal the program had produced for her.

Tieran, sitting on a windowsill he had cleared of filth and debris, did not answer, but continued gazing out the window, as though he could see them at this distance and find them in the vastness of this computer-generated labyrinth.

Hadrian lounged in a chair he had conjured for himself. He amused himself by firing pebbles from a slingshot he had taken from a goblin at anything that wandered within several yards of his chair.

"That's fairly good progress for less than an hour, but then, that is an easy section," he commented, loosing another stone. He watched Caereh as she began pacing, kicking aside the occasional goblin or chicken. She approached the area around his chair looking for clear floor where she could walk unimpeded. Even the computer-generated goblins had learned to avoid the area for the most part.

Hadrian toyed with the idea of aiming a pebble at Caereh, just as he had at any other thing that had come within his designated boundary, but he discarded it. Maybe he would use it later. Doing it now would spoil everything.

"They're still in the brick maze. What else is in there?" Caereh demanded.

"Only the lichen," he answered her.

.….

"...The ants go marching four by four. Hurrah! Hurrah! The ants go marching four by four, the little one stops to shut the door and they all go marching down, into the ground, to get out of the rain," Cara sang with enthusiasm.

"How many verses of that are there?" Jareth asked irritably.

"As many as I can rhyme, I think. I could do bottles of beer on the wall if you prefer."

"I'd prefer nothing at all. Why are you singing?"

"Marching music, keeping our spirits up, and all that. Besides, this way you know I'm still here."

"Well, it is getting kind of annoying, Cara," Alia agreed with Jareth. "And I think you're waking up the lichen and they're starting to give me the creeps. One or two clumps in the movie was cute, but a pot of them every 25 feet is too much. And these don't act the same."

Jareth considered the nearest pot of lichen that Cara had woken. Every eyeball watched them intently. Cara walked up to it to get a closer look.

"What do you think they're going to do, Alia? Jump out of their pots and start crawling after us?" Cara reached up to feel one of the stalks extended toward her. The eye pulled back very slightly, but continued to watch her intently.

"Careful, they bite," Jareth murmured next to her ear just as she was about to touch it.

Cara jumped and snatched her hand back, then wheeled and glared at Jareth. "Was that really necessary?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps."

"What are they going to bite me with? We don't even know if they do. It didn't say so in the movie."

"Precisely. We don't know what they will do, but Alia is right. They are not behaving in the same way as the ones in the movie or the ones I know. Usually, if you were to approach one that closely, it would withdraw, like a snail into its shell.

"We're relying on the movie script too much. We can't expect Caereh to follow it exactly. Unfortunately, she's not quite that stupid. And just by being here, the three of us have already changed it. Now shall we continue?" Jareth gestured onwards.

They walked in a subdued single-file down the path between the brick walls, Alia in front, giving the pots a wide berth, and Cara trailing behind the other two, muttering sullenly under her breath.

"Could have just told me... I'm not stupid... didn't have to scare the crap out of me... pompous, arrogant, know-it-all... acts like he's the only one with any sense..." She fumed in this vein for some time, until Alia, still in the lead, reached a dead end.

Since she was the closest, Cara turned back to the side path they had just passed. Alia and Jareth followed her.

"Now we'll see who's got sense. Now that I'm leading the way we'll get somewhere."

Her mind full of thoughts such as these, Cara set off with determination, as though sheer willpower would force the computer to give her the way to the castle beyond the Goblin City. Never hesitating, Cara took the turns that came to her and Alia and Jareth quickened their pace to keep up.

Rounding a corner, Cara came face to face with a giant eyeball. Before she could scream or step back, a limb wrapped around her and pinned her arms to her sides. Another snaked out and pulled her feet out from under her.


	15. Chapter 15

"Help!" she screamed. "Jareth! Alia! Get it off me! Get me away from this thing!"

Jareth and Alia sprinted down the corridor and skidded around the corner. Without pausing, Jareth sprang at the giant lichen, pulling at the eye stalks twined around Cara. Alia beat on it with her fists and kicked it. She landed a blow by chance on one of the eyeballs, causing the lichen to close and curl in that eyestalk to protect it, all the while muttering and moaning to itself in a faint, high voice.

"The eyes. Hit its eyes," Jareth told Alia, noticing the reaction.

Alia began pounding at any eyeball that came within reach, like some demented arcade game. The lichen whimpered and the tentacle-like stalks loosened their grip on Cara's legs enough to enable her to pull one free. She aimed a few well-placed kicks with her heel to join in the assault on the lichen.

Jareth concentrated on the stalk wrapped around Cara's chest and arms, alternating pummeling it and trying to pull it loose. Finally, it relented and released Cara's arms. Now they only had to convince it to release her foot. Jareth held Cara under her arms and tried to pull her free.

"Ow! No, don't! That hurts. It has my ankle," Cara said. "You'll have to get it to let go first."

"Well, kick it then," Jareth hissed. "I can't hit it while I hold you. Unless you'd prefer to hang upside down by your foot?"

Cara kicked at it while Alia tried to pry her other foot loose. Abruptly it decided it had had enough abuse, dropped Cara's foot, and retreated down the corridor.

"About time," Jareth muttered as Cara's feet dropped to the ground and he let go of her.

Cara sat on the ground, rubbed her ankle, and wiggled her foot.

"Is it hurt?" Alia asked. "Can you stand on it?"

"It doesn't seem to be hurt. Let me see." She stood up and gingerly put her weight on it. "No, it's fine."

"Good. Carrying you through the Labyrinth would be no picnic," Jareth commented.

"Gee, thanks," Cara told him. "Now what?"

"We keep going, I guess," Alia said.

"I'll lead this time, if you don't mind."

"Oh sure, Jareth. Blame me. Like I meant to run into a giant lichen," Cara complained, trudging along after Jareth.

"I never said that."

"No, but you implied it." She brightened. "That's all right. This way we get to blame you for the next mishap."

.….

The black cat streaked into the room pursued by a small horde of goblins for who knew what evil purpose. It passed near Tieran, who scooped it up and placed it on the other side of him in the deep window embrasure. Surprisingly, the cat accepted this rescue with no protest and sat nervously watching the goblins from behind Tieran.

The goblins clamored to have their prey back, adding to the general uproar in the room, but either the cat sat out of their reach or they lacked the courage to reach around Tieran.

Caereh sat on the throne in what she thought of as her Jarethian position – with one leg dangling and one spike-heeled boot propped on the throne's arm – and watched the antics of the deprived goblins. Waiting for things to happen out in the Labyrinth bored her.

Gradually, as the goblins either decided their plaything was not coming back or forgot about it altogether, they began to wander off.

"Oh, now, Tieran, look at them," she reproached him. "They're depressed. You've stolen their toy. Give them the cat back."

"The cat is welcome to go where it likes."

"Put the cat on the floor."

Tieran ignored her and turned his attention back outside the window.

"Don't make me make you do it."

Tieran turned his head slowly, raised his eyebrow, and said coldly, "I would never make you do anything." He turned back to the cat which had lain down now that the goblins had lost interest.

The cat allowed him to stroke it as it stared out the window. The computer had not quite reproduced the image of a cat, but it came closer than many cartoons and drawings he had seen. The soot black fur felt silky soft under his computer-generated fingertips.

When he considered it, he himself did not look quite right, either. The color of his hands was a touch off and their texture was too smooth. Still, he had dimension, took up space.

While Tieran observed these things, Caereh lost her patience and her temper, but directed her irritation at Hadrian instead of Tieran.

"Is it time yet?" she demanded, sitting upright on the throne.

"Only a few more minutes," he answered from above. Some time ago he had grown bored with his slingshot and had disappeared to find his own amusement elsewhere. When he returned, he had perched on the crown hanging over the throne instead of his chair.

"Good." She looked forward to her next activity. Watching Tieran look out the window at the fake landscape bored her practically to tears and the incident with the lichen had not lasted nearly long enough, especially for the way it ended. "Don't you wonder what's going to happen?" she asked Tieran.

"Happen? No, not particularly."

"Well, you'll find out soon enough," she answered as if he had expressed curiosity in the matter.

"I am sure I will."

Hadrian watched the scene from above and smiled. She was trying to control Tieran, just as she had tried to control him and she was failing just as miserably. But Tieran did not bother to disguise it as he did. Caereh's confidence in her plan was just beginning to wear around the edges. "How long will I be able to play her out before she breaks?" he wondered.

Caereh smiled and rose from her throne. "You see, I'm waiting for the Magic Dance scene, one of my favorite parts of the movie."

"I suppose you intend to dance and sing along?"

"Of course."

Tieran slid off the windowsill and threaded his way through the goblins across the throne room. Caereh watched him and then followed and intercepted him at the foot of the stairs that presumably led to the Escher inspired room.

"What are you doing?"

"This is not one of my favorite scenes from the movie. I thought I would look at the rest of your castle."

"Oh, really? Just like that?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Yes."

"I don't think so. You're staying right here. You're part of it."

"No."

"What do you mean 'No?'"

"I mean I will not participate in your little fantasy. I will not dance, sing along, or gurgle like a baby. Have Hadrian help you."

"Fine. If you're not going to participate, you'll watch." Caereh turned Tieran about and pushed him back into the room as the music started.

Tieran gave up his idea of getting away from this noise and filth and looked for a place to sit. He quickly looked around the room and his eyes lit on the throne. If Caereh wanted him to stay, he would sit where he wanted to, namely, the place that would annoy her the most. He sat in the throne while Caereh kicked a few goblins into their proper places. She turned to find the usurpation of her throne a fait accompli. She had no time to complain, though, for the music had reached the point to begin singing.

"You remind me of the babe."

At this point Tieran missed a few lines, distracted by the comfort, or lack thereof, of the throne. "Now I understand why Jareth always sits sideways in it," he said to himself. "A stone bench is more comfortable than sitting straight on this." He tried to remember how he had seen Jareth sit in the throne to follow his example. Just as he got relatively comfortable, Caereh drew his attention again.

"Get rid of these goblins," she was telling Hadrian. "They keep getting in my way." Then she continued singing as the goblins vanished.

The cat on the windowsill took the opportunity of this demonstration of the art of prima donna to flash across the room and land in Tieran's lap. Tieran seemed to have made a friend.

"You'll be my baby, after all they'll try to do. What can they do? All his power is gone. That leaves just me and you. He's really through." As she sang this to Tieran, Caereh approached the throne.

Tieran frowned. He had not watched the movie often enough to know the lyrics, but those did not fit the storyline. Who was 'he'? Caereh walked around to the back of the throne, going into what Tieran had come to think of as "Caereh's seductive mode," and continued singing.

"What kind of magic spell to use? Microchips." She leaned over the back. "You'll kiss these lips." The cat in Tieran's lap growled and she moved away as she continued, "My future is brightening. And so I say. Dance, magic, dance..." She ran off to dance around the room to the music.

"Give a whole new life to me." She began to jump to the music. "Put that magic look on me." She stopped in front of the throne. "Grab my baby, make him see."

The changed lines were beginning to irritate Tieran. Obviously she had not gotten the message last time and still had designs on him. "What will it take to turn her off?" he wondered incredulously. "She is obsessed with this idea."

Caereh started on her next verse. "You're mine, baby, no matter what they all go through. What can't I do?"

Tieran added megalomania to her list of mental problems.

"His time has come and gone. Now it's me and you. All brand new." Then she launched into her chorus again, but let the computerized goblin voices finish it and told Tieran, "You sing the next part."

"I told you I would not participate."

"It's just this one section, only a few lines," she whined.

"Which section?"

"The slime and snails part. I thought you could say something like I did. 'Microchips. I'll kiss those lips. The future is brightening. So inviting.' Clever, isn't it?"

"Terribly," Tieran said, controlling his urge to grimace disgustedly.

"Here it is, your part. Say it, say it."

"What kind of magic spell to use," Tieran began deadpan, not looking at her and making no attempt to sing it. Then he had an idea and made direct eye contact as he said the next lines. "Sugar and spice. You are nothing nice. Thunder nor lightning. Nothing frightening."

Hadrian's low laughter from above could be heard over the goblin chorus. "I may actually grow to like this Tieran. Provoking Caereh like that! The element of surprise makes it almost as good as anything I could have come up with myself."

Caereh turned livid, absorbing what he had said. Tieran wondered for a split second how the computer knew how to react. He had no longer than that to think about it because Caereh delivered him a stinging blow across his face. Then he wondered if he would have a computer-generated hand print on his cheek.

"I hope not," he thought as he conjured cartoon images with brilliant red hand prints painted on his cheeks. Outwardly, he remained impassive, only moving to stroke the cat as Caereh stared at him for his reaction. He frowned mentally. "Why did I provoke her? To see what she would do? To see how far I could go?"

Hadrian's laughter soon broke through Caereh's rage and reminded her that he had witnessed the insult. "Don't just sit there laughing like a hyena, you fool. Get rid of this music. I'm tired of hearing it."

Hadrian, still laughing, did as he was told.


	16. Chapter 16

"Anyone have any lipstick?" Cara asked, still on an adrenalin high from her lichen encounter. Jareth still led and she tagged along behind. They had reached the stone maze a short while before and she had remembered the movie again. "Never mind, we don't want to annoy the brownies. If anyone is going to call my mother a fraggin' aardvark, it'll be me." She thought a moment. "Hmm, no, aardvark doesn't quite fit. She's more of a... oh, what was it called? A... a muntjac." 

"What?" Alia turned and looked at her over her shoulder.

"Yep, definitely a muntjac. She looks like an innocent little dear, then you catch sight of those fangs. And yapping at you all the time. A fraggin' muntjac, that's what she is."

"Cara, what are you talking about?" Alia stopped and demanded. "You're babbling. Are you sure that lichen didn't do something to you?"

"Just trying to make conversation."

"What in the name of the Underground is a muntjac?" Jareth demanded.

"Don't you ever watch the Discovery Channel? No, I don't suppose you would." Cara sighed then said, "A muntjac is an itty bitty deer that lives in India. It looks like a normal deer, except it has these fangs, like some sort of vampire deer." She demonstrated with her fingers at the corners of her mouth. "And it barks for an alarm, so they call it the barking deer. Has loads in common with my mother, fits her to a T."

"Sounds a little like Caereh," Jareth commented and turned to start walking again. A movement caught out of the corner of his eye caused him to pause halfway and glance back the way they had come.

"Get down," he cried, diving for the stone pavings and dragging Alia and Cara with him. Something zipped over their heads.

"What?" Cara wanted to know. "What was that?"

"Your brownies."

"My brownies?" Cara demanded as she raised her head to look at him. "Why is it that all the problems are mine?"

"Fine. Then the brownies you mentioned five minutes ago."

"What about them?" Alia asked, tired of the arguing and wanting the information.

"Here they live in the walls." A chink sounded in the wall above them and they ducked as sharp splinters of stone sprayed down on them. "And they blow darts. Move before they find their aim." Jareth crawled for the nearest corner that would shield them from the brownies.

"Leave it to Caereh to arm them," Cara said once they were safely behind the wall.

"Be thankful she didn't give them heat-seeking missiles," Alia said.

"Shh. Don't give her ideas. Where do we go now?" Cara asked peeking around the corner. Another dart hit the stones near her head, chipping off more slivers.

Jareth carefully picked up the tiny dart that had ricocheted to the floor in front of them. "I don't think we can go back that way. I doubt these are simply darts. They're most likely drugged or poisoned."

"How do you know that?" Cara asked, rubbing her cheek where the stone slivers had hit it.

"If you were a brownie, would you defend yourself with tiny, plain darts? They'd only anger your target. You'd need to incapacitate it."

"What a horrible place she's made this." She rubbed the blood from her cheek off her fingers on her jeans, leaving smears whose animation did not quite match the path of her fingertips. "So we don't go that way and we can't go this way because it's a dead end."

"Not anymore, it's not," Alia said pointing. To their left the tiny courtyard contained the pair of doubled goblin guards.

"Alph and Ralph," Jareth said.

"I suppose that means there's a dead end behind us now," Cara said, looking over her shoulder. "Good. The more walls between us and those darts, the better."

"That's right. Annoying little buggers, aren't they? Always blowing darts at us. That's why we've got these shields," volunteered the guard on the left.

"Oh, what a lie! That's not why we've got them. They're for the rules. You know they have to pick a door to get out," countered the guard on the right.

"Look! She's changed the rules," Alia exclaimed.

"This is news to you?" Jareth asked.

"No, look. I mean they're not runes anymore."

The new rules covered the surface of both shields. Plainly lettered English dwindling into fine print replaced the old heraldic designs bordered with runes.

"**ONLY ONE QUESTION PER PARTICIPANT OR TEAM OF PARTICIPANTS PER JOURNEY THROUGH THE 'LABYRINTH.' QUESTION MAY ONLY BE ASKED ONCE. QUESTION MAY ONLY BE ASKED OF ONE GUARD. GUARD GUARANTEED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER. TRUTH OF ANSWER NOT GUARANTEED.**

DEPENDING ON GUARD QUESTIONED, ANSWER WILL BE GUARANTEED TRUTH OR FALSEHOOD. MANAGEMENT NOT REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE IDENTITY OF TRUTH-TELLING OR NON-TRUTH-TELLING GUARD. MANAGEMENT NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSEQUENCES OF ANY ACTIONS TAKEN ON BASIS OF GUARD ANSWERS.

"Odds of winning 1:13,000,000,000. One entry per customer. Void where prohibited.  
Management reserves the right to change the rules at any time without prior notice.  
If you want the full rules, you're out of luck."

"We have to choose a door to get out, one lies, one tells the truth, and we can only ask one question," Cara summarized. "Well, at least that hasn't changed. It looks like the lawyers have been after the rules, though."

"Leaving us with a lot of words that don't tell us much. Typical," Alia said cynically. "Sarah got more information than this."

"But we're not Sarah, are we?" Jareth asked rhetorically as he brushed the nonexistent dirt from his jeans. He slipped one of his loafers off and dumped out a stone chip. Cara thought he looked totally out of place in the slip-on shoes. "Boots would have been so much more practical," he muttered. "Everyone always portrays me as so unfair," he sneered at the word, "to Sarah, but at least I gave her all the information she needed. These poor excuses for guards probably don't even know what is behind those doors."

"But what sense would that make?" Cara objected. "How –"

"Yeah, I'll bet they haven't got a clue," Alia interrupted. "They just stand around all day telling lies because Caereh doesn't trust them not to blurt out the answers."

"You're right there. They don't look trustworthy to me. Entirely too slickly drawn. What do you think Cara?" Jareth asked, looking at Cara significantly as the guards began to mutter among themselves.

He was trying to tell her something, but Cara was not catching it. "What –" she began before Alia cut her off again.

"For all we know these doors could lead back to the beginning, or to the bog, or nowhere at all. Maybe that's it. They're such sorry excuses for guards that they can't guard anything important, just fake doors," she ended derisively.

One of the lower guards could not take any more abuse. "We do too know! One door leads to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth and the other leads to certain death."

The guard on the bottom of the other pair backed him up. "Yeah, that's what we were told."

"Ach, now you've done it. You weren't supposed to tell them that," one of the upper guards scolded.

Alia smiled smugly. "Now we just have to ask the question."

"Would you care to do the honors?" Jareth asked Cara as he gestured toward the guards.

"No, thank you. I don't want any criticism later," Cara told him. "You do it."

"As you wish. If everyone will please remember to refrain from commentary..." he instructed, raising an eyebrow and looking at Cara and Alia, then approaching the guards.

This, Cara got. "Right, no quoting."

He addressed the upper guard on the right. "Would that guard," he pointed to his left, "say that this door leads to the castle?"

Without hesitation, the right-hand guard answered, "No."

"Thank you. Stand aside," he commanded the guard in front of him.

It sidled away from the door. Alia and Cara stepped up to follow Jareth as he opened the dark paneled wooden door. They stepped cautiously into the corridor on the other side of the door, treading lightly, anticipating the floor to drop out from underneath them, and looked around. Nothing happened, so they moved farther down the corridor.

They had to walk in single file – the walls sloping inward did not allow them to walk any other way – but they kept close together. At the intersection with the cross corridor they stopped to decide which way to go. Looking back the way they had come, the smooth, pale, yellow ocher stone wall – just like the rest of this section of the Labyrinth – gave no sign of the door they had just passed through.

Alia tapped Cara on the shoulder to point this out to her. Cara jumped.

"Don't do that," she hissed in a loud whisper.

"Sorry. Look. The door's gone," Alia told her, also in a whisper that caught Jareth's attention as he paused to consider which way to take.

"What? So it is. I think we'll go to the left this time. Follow me."

They turned to follow him and then the floor dropped from under them.

After the first startled yelps – screaming was beneath Jareth's dignity and Alia and Cara were not the type – they fell almost silently until the Helping Hands lining the slick walls of the shaft caught them.

"Ow, Sarah was right. They do hurt," Cara said as they halted her fall, pulling and pinching bare skin – even animated bare skin – painfully and grabbing forcefully regardless of body part.

From somewhere below her Cara heard, "You will remove that hand or I will remove it. I may be animated, but I am still the Goblin King and I expect to be treated as such."

Cara tried not to wonder about the location of the hand. Looking around in the faint light from above, she noticed that Caereh had customized the hands as well. They were no longer wrinkled, calloused, and caked with dirt, but cleaned up with animation, resembling mannequin hands more than the Helping Hands from the movie. Cara thought she saw nail polish on several of them.

"We're helping. We're the Helping Hands," came the chorus of voices from all around them.

"Which way do we want to go?" Alia asked from above. "That should be the next question they ask."

"Up. Definitely up," Cara answered.

"I agree," Jareth said.

"Then it's unanimous," Alia said. "I always wondered why she chose the way she did."

"Which way do you want to go? Up or down?" queried the chorus.

"Up," they nearly shouted back as one voice.

"Up?"

"They chose up?"

"Too bad," a rusty voice said and handed them downwards.

"Hey! Wait a minute! We chose up. Why aren't you handing us up?" Cara demanded.

"Because you're going down. You always go down."

"Then why do you ask?"

"We like for you to feel you have a choice," another voice answered, sounding as if it was talking around a handful of marbles, as they dropped into the oubliette and the grate clanged shut behind them.


	17. Chapter 17

"They're in the oubliette. All three of them." 

"Isn't that where they should be at this point?" Hadrian asked disinterestedly. Now that the he had removed the goblins – Caereh had not asked for them back – he had not even the small amusement of his slingshot. This empty waiting bored him, therefore he felt in no mood to indulge Caereh's whining.

"You weren't supposed to let them get this far. They were supposed to get lost."

Three of them? Now the reference to 'him' earlier made sense to Tieran. "You expect Jareth to get lost in a labyrinth? That is expecting a little much," Tieran commented.

Caereh ignored him and continued, "What about the lichen? And those brownies? You said those poison darts were a good idea. You said they would work."

"Apparently I was wrong," Hadrian said as he studied a knife one of the goblins had left behind on the floor. "She might become annoying soon," he thought.

"It's Jareth's fault. That's what it is. It's all his fault."

"Really?" Hadrian commented.

"They never would have made it so far if he wasn't with them. And he was your idea, too. You're the one who said he should be included." Caereh stood in a menacing pose over Hadrian as he sat in his chair.

"Very well," Hadrian snapped at her. "What do you suggest we do with him? Shall we turn him loose to do mischief from the outside? At least we control him in here."

"But what if he makes it through?" Caereh nagged.

Hadrian shrugged. "Then he makes it through. You only have to honor the rules if you feel like it."

"That's true." Caereh brightened as she considered this idea.

"I cannot believe you are discussing this in front of me."

Hadrian looked at Tieran scornfully. "What difference does it make? Do you think we care about your opinion? You can't do anything about it. You don't matter in this game."

"I had forgotten this was all just a game to you."

"Yes," Hadrian agreed, "and where's the fun in the game if you don't break the rules?"

Caereh brightened. "But, since they're in the oubliette, we won't have to break the rules, will we? We can just leave them there to rot."

This idea, of course, appealed to Tieran no more than the previous one had. "But where is the fun in that?" he asked.

"Ah, now you're getting the hang of it," Hadrian approved. "He has a point you know, Caereh. If we leave them there, what will we do for the next eight hours? Play solitaire?"

"I'd be willing to deal with it."

"But I wouldn't. I'm bored already. Eight more hours would be unbearable. What do you say I go pay them a visit? Play Hoggle for a while?"

"I say no. They're just fine where they are. Moving Sarah was Jareth's mistake and I'm not going to make the same one. If he'd left her there, she'd still be there."

"I would be interested in seeing what Hadrian looks like dressed as Hoggle," Tieran told Caereh mildly. In order for them to have a chance of finishing the Labyrinth, he had to get Caereh to let them out of the oubliette.

"You forget – I'm not here for your entertainment, you are here for ours." Hadrian did not tolerate teasing from anyone, least of all a prisoner.

"Good, then that's settled," Caereh said with an air of satisfaction.

"What's settled?"

"You're going to leave them in the oubliette."

"I never said that."

"But –"

"I said I wasn't here for his amusement. I'm here for my own. And it amuses me to go pay a visit to the oubliette."

"You won't."

"Why not?"

"I forbid it."

Hadrian laughed. "How? You've forgotten that I am the one providing the magic. Without me none of this would work. I'm going and if you're lucky, I'll come back and continue to help you."

"What will I do?"

"Here. Have a few crystals. You can watch." Hadrian tossed her a series of crystals, then vanished.

.….

"Find anything yet?" Cara asked. The three of them slowly crawled around the oubliette, looking for a possible means of escape.

"Only a skull, I believe," Jareth answered. "No cupboards, closets, benches, or boards."

"I suppose that would make things too easy for us. What about you, Alia?"

"Oh, yeah, I found stuff all right. Caereh doesn't seem to have cleaned this set up any. Cobwebs. Something slimy in one corner. Nothing that we –" Alia broke off suddenly with a suppressed squeak and some scuffling.

"What?"

"Something just ran across my hand."

"Wonderful. Just what I wanted to learn – we're not alone in here."

"No, you're not alone. You're never alone, not here you're not," answered a fourth voice with a smirk in it.

"Who's there?" Cara demanded.

"You don't recognize my voice?" Suddenly it hovered right next to her shoulder. "Cara, my dear, I'm hurt. After all this time I thought I meant more to you than that."

Cara shuddered in the darkness. "Why are you here, Hadrian?"

"Why am I here? Ah, yes, to give you a hand." He began clapping slowly.

"Very funny. We've had enough of those already. I don't suppose you could give us some light?"

"Of course." A brilliant, blue-white flare burst into life and hovered near the low ceiling of the cave, blinding three of them for a few moments.

Once Cara's vision resolved the cave into a sharp contrast of white glare and pitch black shadows she answered him, "Thank you."

"Now, why else are you here?" Jareth asked crossly, with a hand still shading his eyes. His face shone ghostly pale against his black shirt in the bright light.

"I thought I would come to help. Caereh would like to leave you here for the rest of the game, but I thought, 'Where's the fun in that?'"

"So, against Caereh's wishes, you're going to let us out?" Cara said.

"Exactly. Very good."

"The question is where he will put us next. Perhaps back at the beginning?" Jareth suggested.

"Oh, come, come. I didn't say that did I?"

"No," Alia piped up, "but that's what Hoggle was supposed to do. We've followed the movie so far – why should it change now?"

"So the quiet little thing in the corner does still have a voice. I'm sure your sweetie sends his love. He's found himself a pet, you know. Ticked Caereh off with it royally. Most amusing. Now he and the cat have occupied the throne. Caereh hasn't noticed yet. Not always the sharpest knife in the drawer is our Caereh."

"Should you be saying things like that?" asked Cara.

"What will she do? I'm her magic."

"Yes, and why are you her magic?" Jareth asked.

"Ah, now that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Alia ran out of patience. Tired, hungry, sore, and having just had a close encounter with who knew what in the dark, she snapped, "Oh, enough of this chit-chat! Just get us out of here."

"Such manners," Hadrian chided. He reached up and seizing the flare still lighting the room, threw it against the wall where it exploded. When the explosion dispersed it left the rock wall hanging in ragged shreds, light coruscating along the edges of the tatters of rock.

"What did you do to it?" Cara asked.

"I disrupted the animation. You would never have gotten out without me," Hadrian explained smugly. "There is no other way."

"Is it safe?" Alia asked peering at the darkness through the shreds dripping and arcing energy.

"What other choice do you have?" Hadrian asked in turn, standing back to watch them with arms crossed over his chest. "Make up your mind before it mends itself or Caereh figures out how to fix it."

"He's right," Cara said. "It's this or nothing, now or never." She ducked through the hole, avoiding the dangling streamers drawing up into the wall's surface. The raw edges of the wound were already growing inward, healing themselves.

Once through the hole Cara paused in the semi-darkness. "What about a light again, Hadrian? I don't suppose you'll give us another one?" She turned to look back at the opening which Alia and Jareth were climbing through.

"Oh, I couldn't make it too easy for you," Hadrian said as the hole in the wall sealed over, leaving them in darkness.

"I think we've seen the last of him for a while," Jareth observed. "Follow me."

"Where? How? I can't see a thing," Cara asked.

Jareth grabbed her hand and Alia's and linked them together. "Hold hands," he told her as he took her other hand and walked unerringly down the corridor.

"I am so tired of wandering around in the dark," Alia complained. "Bats and Biters and now bugs. What will it be next?"

"Nothing. We'll soon be out of the darkness. I can see light ahead," Jareth told her.

Soon they entered an area lit by no visible source. The air itself seemed to carry the light and cast no shadows. Alia did not really care where it came from, pleased enough that she could see again. Further along the corridor she could see carvings on the walls.

"Are those False Alarms up there?" Alia asked no one in particular.

"They look like it," Cara answered her.

"Don't go on," moaned the first one ominously as they passed it.

"Beware."

"Go back while you still can – if you still can."

"I see Caereh has made alterations in these, as well," Jareth commented. "They all look alike."

"Go no further – you won't make it anyway."

"You'll never make it."

"Yeah, they all look like her," Alia said. Reliefs of Caereh's face replaced the Easter Island monolith and Wizard of Oz tree faces. They all had a sinister twist Alia thought, bitter and malicious.

"Don't bother to go on, you'll always choose the wrong way."

"I don't suppose we'll be able to get these to shut up like Hoggle did," Cara said. "What an ego. At least you made yours individuals."

"You couldn't find your way out of a paper bag."

"Hey, there's no need to get insulting here," Cara told the last one.

"That's my job," it said. "I'm just calling it as I see it. I can't help it if you're the most clueless specimens that have wandered through here in a quite a while."

"Come along, Cara. You'll get nowhere arguing with a rock," Jareth said, pulling her away from the face carved into the rock as Cara opened her mouth for a snappy comeback. He steered her down the passage by her shoulders as she continued to glare back over her shoulder at the stone face. "Caereh is only trying to discourage and distract us. You're tired and doing exactly what she wants."

"But –"

"It's a rock, Cara. What does it know, anyway?" Alia said as they reached a brick tunnel lit intermittently by air vents to the surface.

"More than one might think," Caereh answered, stepping from a shadow into a sunbeam. "For instance, I'd say it had gotten you spot on."

Cara groaned. "I should have known we'd be getting a visit from you when the False Alarms turned up."

"Aren't they wonderful?"

"Oh, sure. Even Hadrian is more helpful than they are," Cara said. "How'd he persuade you to let us out? Did he say he'd lead us back to the beginning? Or did he work on his own without your permission?"

Caereh's face clouded over as Cara reminded her of Hadrian's disobedience of her wishes. "Keep talking and you will regret it – unless you would prefer to spend the rest of the game back in the oubliette? Or perhaps in the Bog?" Then she remembered the real object of her visit and turned to Jareth to use a few lines on him.

"And how are you enjoying my version of the Labyrinth, Jareth?" she asked, approaching him closely and playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"It is just what I would have expected from you."

"You're finding it too easy?"

"That's not what I said."

"But that's what you meant. You've already had help, maybe we should even things up a little." She pointed to a point in midair about five feet off the ground where nothing appeared. "Hadrian! The clock!" she growled.

"Oh, good," Alia said. "I was wondering how much time we had left."

A gilt clock with numerals from one to thirteen in black on its white face finally appeared. The time read approximately 20 minutes to five. As they watched, the hands spun around, winding hours off the time left to them. Eventually, Caereh (or Hadrian) slowed the hands at a little past eight. They had just lost over three hours.

"Oh, well, if Sarah could do it, so can we," Cara said.

"Still too easy for you?" Caereh produced a crystal with surprising ease and threw it down the tunnel with admirable form.

"No, I didn't say that. You deliberately twist our words."

"Come on, Cara," Alia said, tugging on her arm. "Let's go. The cleaners are next. Remember?"

Cara turned and ran after her, the memory of this scene from the movie vivid in her head – the rotating blades tearing through the iron-barred door, the lumbering, rumbling machinery. She could almost hear it behind them.

"Wait a minute – I should hear it behind us. I don't hear anything." She glanced over her shoulder and did not see anything in the brief look. She slowed down and turned around. She spied nothing but Caereh standing in the distance, her whole body communicating her displeasure.

"Hey, guys, you can slow down a little. No cleaners."

"What do you mean?" Alia demanded breathlessly.

"Do you hear anything coming?"

"No."

"Well, then. And look – Caereh's not happy." Caereh was gesturing energetically now, pointing down the corridor and talking to the air again. "She must be chewing Hadrian out. Wait, I think I saw something move."

"Well, don't just stand there. Come on."

"No, it's not big enough for that. Hold on."

"Are you two coming or do you have a wish to become mincemeat?"

"C'mere, Jareth. You've got to see this. Look."

Jareth walked back toward them. "So Caereh is displeased." He shrugged. "That's nothing new."

"No. Look."

Two medium sized goblins wielding brooms and dustpans entered Caereh's sunbeam. The goblins worked their way slowly along the tunnel, meticulously sweeping the dust and dirt in front of them. They paused to sweep a small pile of debris they had accumulated into the dustpan, then turned down the side entrance leading to the False Alarms.

"Cleaners," Alia sniggered. "No wonder Caereh was ticked off. Well, show's over. Let's go," she said when Caereh disappeared. "How do we get out of here? Wasn't there a side door?"

"Not anymore." Jareth shook his head. "Caereh seems to have removed it. I haven't seen one yet."

"Then I guess we'll be walking down here a while," Cara said.

"Do you hear something?" Alia asked.

"Hmm?" Jareth asked. "No. Yes, I do."

They all turned and looked back the way they had come. In the far distance they glimpsed a brief flash, then only darkness.

Alia sighed heavily. "That's the real cleaners, I suppose. I should have known better than to laugh at the other ones."

They sprinted away from the distant flash and rumble, Jareth in the lead and Alia bringing up the rear. "More track practice. I never did look into running cross-country at school," thought Alia, then concentrated on running, positive the machine was gaining on her.

She focused so blindly on running that he did not notice the actions of her companions, forcing Jareth to stop her bodily as she ran by.

"No, down the hole," Jareth said as he caught her.

Gasping and panting, she did not immediately understand him.

"The drain," he said pointing to a manhole in the center of the tunnel to clarify.

"Or would it be goblinhole here?" Alia thought irrelevantly.

"There are rungs. Now! Hurry!"

Alia forced her burning, leaden legs to squat by the hole and climbed down the ladder. The hole was narrow, a tight fit. "Definitely a goblinhole," she thought, descending as quickly as she could manage. Jareth soon followed her and pulled the cover over the hole behind him leaving them in pitch blackness again.

Alia descended until she nearly stepped on Cara.

"Hey, watch out! I'm down here," Cara told her just as a rumbling passed overhead. Mortar and brick flakes rained down around them, dislodged by the weight and vibrations.

"Sounds like it's gone," Cara said. "Think it'll come back? Can we risk going back up there?"

"No," Jareth answered her. "The weight of the cleaner jammed the cover."

"How convenient. So now we're in another oubliette," Alia said.

"Not necessarily. There is still down. Is there more ladder below you, Cara?"

"Yeah."

"Then we choose down again. There should be another way out down there. Why else would you have the hole and ladder in the first place?"

Alia tried counting the rungs, but lost track when she slipped. Cara finally announced reaching the bottom long after that.

"Is there room to stand?" Jareth asked.

"A little, not much."

"Any openings?"

"None that I can see, of course. Let me feel."

"Better you than me," Alia said, the memory of her encounter in the oubliette giving her a shudder of revulsion. With lots of little tickly legs, it had used every last one of them to run across her hand. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl again.

"Yeah, there's a tunnel down here. It's pretty small. It'll be a tight squeeze."

"Then we will crawl. Perhaps this clothing has some benefits after all," Jareth admitted.

"I don't think it's your knees you will need to worry about, Jareth," Cara told him. "It's your elbows. We won't even be able to crawl on hands and knees. I think this is goblin sized."

"We'll just have to do that then. We have no other options at this point. Is there room enough for us all to stand down there?"

"I don't think so."

"Then you'll have to lead. You may as well start down the tunnel. Alia will follow you and I'll follow her."

Cara crawled into the tunnel and started worming her way through the darkness. It felt as though it had been tiled rather than brick or stone lined or left bare earth. Fortunately it felt as dry and clean as the rest of Caereh's computer Labyrinth. She heard a muttering and mumbling behind her.

"Is that you, Alia? What are you saying? I can't understand you."

"I said, slow down a little."

"I'm not going very fast as it is. What happened to hurrying?" Cara answered, a little puzzled.

"Some of us aren't as thin as you are. Some of us actually have shoulders and hips. I can barely move. This is going to take me a while."

"How is Jareth doing behind you?"

"Hold on, I'll ask." Cara heard more muffled conversation as Alia tried to direct her voice back to Jareth. Then Alia answered Cara irritatedly, "He doesn't seem to be having any problem. Why did I expect otherwise? I'll bet he can fit anywhere he likes."

"Probably," Cara laughed back at her. "Have you got the hang of it yet?"

"Almost. I hope this doesn't go very far."

"Me too."

A few minutes later, Cara abruptly hit a wall.

"Hey what'd you stop for? I've got the hang of this now, you don't have to wait for me."

"There's no more tunnel," Cara told Alia.

Alia groaned and relayed the news to Jareth. After some muttered consultation, she said, "He asks if there's another tunnel anywhere."

"No," Cara answered crossly. "I said it ended."

Alia conferred with Jareth then suggested, "Did you feel for a latch or anything? Maybe it's a door or a hatch on the end of the pipe."

Cara had already felt the surface in front of her, but obligingly tried it again. It was completely smooth, perhaps metal, not tiled like the inside of the drain or whatever they crawled through. No bumps or irregularities to push, no handles or loops to pull on, no cracks to hint at a concealed opening.

"No, there's nothing," Cara said, beating at the wall in frustration with her fist. "Wait a minute," she added. She thought she had felt the wall give when she hit it and tested it again. It definitely moved. She hit it again and again with as much force as she could manage from this awkward position. Suddenly it gave way and light flooded in through the round opening.

-

_There is a quote in this section from the song "Saint Augustine in Hell" by Sting on Ten Summoner's Tales. It's not an explicit quote, but the dialogue triggered it in my head and the line fit, so there's the attribution, just to be on the safe side. I tried dividing this off with a ruler, but it wouldn't save (what's the point of a feature that you can't use?), so we'll have to make do with italics and a hyphen.  
_


	18. Chapter 18

18

The cover bounced and rang off of stone somewhere out in the light. Shielding her eyes and blinking painfully, Cara pulled herself forward to the edge of the pipe. She tumbled out of the pipe to the paving stones a foot and a half below her, stood, and stretched her limbs, stiff from cramped and repetitive usage. Waiting for the others to work their way out, she looked around and saw that they had emerged in the hedge maze just as Sarah had done.

"I wonder if we'll meet the man in the bird hat?" she asked as she turned to see if Alia and Jareth had extracted themselves yet. "Whoa! Will you look at that!" she exclaimed as she walked back toward the wall they were crawling from. "This is too weird, guys. Look at this."

"What?" Alia asked, still preoccupied with working the kinks out of her muscles. Jareth had just exited the drain with his usual grace and started to brush himself off.

"See for yourself," Cara said.

Instead of the large solid wall she had expected, a parapet overlooked the valley containing the Labyrinth. Cara leaned on the low wall and looked over the edge. Below her a steep, stony hillside covered in scrub fell away, the leaves of the bushes quivering and shimmering in a computer-generated breeze. There was nothing in sight they could have tunneled through.

"Cool," Alia enthused, once she realized what must have happened. "Did you see this, Jareth?"

Jareth glanced over the wall and continued straightening his clothes. "Yes, very nice."

"That's all you're going to say? 'Very nice?'" Cara demanded. "We just crawled out of nowhere and it's only very nice?"

Jareth stopped and looked at Cara. "You forget that that sort of thing happens all the time in the Labyrinth. It's nothing unusual. If it will make you happy, I'll try to remember to be properly amazed next time," he said, humoring her. "Shall we continue now?"

"Yeah, let's go. You sure do take all the fun out of things." She and Alia followed across to the opening in the hedges. They entered another courtyard with three more openings, one in each of the other walls. The design resembled what they had seen in the movie with tall, stone sentinel statues placed here and there near the openings in the stone walls and foliage. They could see the castle ahead in the distance and walked straight across the courtyard to the opposite break in the hedges.

"Caereh must be skimping on the animation. This one looks a lot like the last one," Alia said.

"Maybe not. In the book Sarah kept ending up in the same courtyard no matter which exit she took," Cara said as they continued directly across this courtyard as well.

"How did she get out?"

"The Wise Man told her," Jareth said.

"Yeah, like in the movie: 'Sometimes the way forward is the way back.' If I remember right she and Hoggle walked through one of the openings backward."

"Well, it looks like maybe we should do the same thing," Alia said after they entered yet another identical courtyard. "This is the third or fourth time we've been here."

"Might as well give it a try," Cara admitted.

The three of them backed through the next opening into yet another identical space.

"Well, that worked really well," Cara commented dryly as they looked around at the four walls and statues of soldiers and housemaids with rolling pins. "Now what? Do we try it again? Keep walking normally? Try another door?"

As they considered their course of action the Wise Man ambled through the courtyard, no doubt on his way to the stone chair of stacked books for his afternoon nap in the sun. At least they assumed this was the Wise Man, for Caereh had been tampering with the design of this character as well.

"What did she do to him?" Alia asked.

"I don't know, but we've got to stop him. Maybe he has a clue," Cara said as she ran after the Wise Man in his spotless, brightly colored, brand new robes trimmed in fur. "Excuse me!" she called after him.

"Hmm?" he asked, pausing in his shuffle and half turning around the wrong way.

"No, we're over here," Cara said as Alia and Jareth joined her.

"Ah, a young girl." Apparently Caereh had not changed the dialogue for this character along with his costume.

"No, actually it's two," Cara corrected him, "and a Goblin King."

"Woo, woo, woo," said the bird on the old man's hat, drawing their attention for the first time.

A new and improved version, he had feathers, lots of them – an all over covering of smooth, brilliant blue feathers with a handful of deep red plumes standing up on top of his head. Where his body blended with the hat – or nest, depending on the way you looked at it – a froth of fluffy, dark blue feathers similar to an ostrich's grew. His eyes and bill were still recognizable – tiny, beady, yellow eyes and a horny, sharp beak.

Meanwhile, Jareth had begun explaining their situation to the old man.

"...So you see we are getting nowhere," he finished.

"You want to get to the castle?"

"How's that for brain power?"

"Be quiet."

"Yes," Jareth answered, ignoring the bird as it grumbled from its paper nest.

"So, young woman –" began the Wise Man.

"Man," interrupted the bird.

"Eh?"

"Man. You're speaking to a man. The others haven't said anything."

"Will you please be quiet?" demanded the old man, losing his temper.

The bird grumbled again and Alia caught a word here and there, "nuts," "help," "crap." She suppressed a smile and tried to pay attention to the old man again.

"The way forward is sometimes the way back. But sometimes the way forward is just the way forward and the way back is only the way back. Quite often it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when, in fact –"

"We are," crowed the bird, unable to restrain himself any longer.

"– we are," finished the old man glaring at his garrulous headgear.

"Yes, but we've tried that," Cara said impatiently. "Walking backward doesn't work."

"Who said anything about walking backward?" the bird asked.

"But that's the way it goes in the book."

"You are relying on the original too much again," Jareth told Cara. "Stop reading meanings into everything. Things are not what they seem in this place and they are not what they were in my Labyrinth."

"Ahem," the old man coughed, holding out his collection box and glaring up at the bird which was eavesdropping on their conversation intently. "Ahem," he coughed louder and bobbed his head.

"What?" asked the bird, annoyed. "Oh. Please leave a contribution in the little box," he prompted.

"What have we got to leave?" Alia asked. "I'm not wearing anything but the pendant Tieran gave me and he's not getting that."

"The pins?" Jareth suggested.

"No, I've got it." Cara said, pulling a ring off her finger.

"What?"

"The ring what's-his-name gave me." She held it up for Alia to see, the apple green stone and gold band flashing in the sun. "Never liked it to begin with and I'm certainly not keeping it now. Good riddance to bad rubbish for a good cause," she said as she dropped it in the box.

"Well, that was entertaining, but didn't get us anywhere," Alia sighed as they watched the old Wise Man and his bird shuffle off arguing with each other.

"Just like all this walking," Cara added.

"'Quite often it seems we are not getting anywhere when, in fact, we are,'" Jareth repeated. "I think we've been making progress all along, but like Alia said, Caereh has been skimping on the animation. It only looks as if it is the same courtyard."

"Yeah, that's a possibility," Cara agreed. "Saves time and money and magic animating and it's an easy way to fool the players."

Eventually, after walking through many more intersections, they entered a region composed entirely of corridors winding back and forth, dividing, changing directions, and occasionally crossing back on themselves. The relief at the change soon waned and this portion of the maze became as frustrating as any other.

"What's it take to get out of this section?" Cara asked with some annoyance.

"A big hairy thing being tortured," Alia answered.

"Yeah. What was Ludo anyway, Jareth?"

"Hey, look at this," Alia interrupted. "This is different. The movie didn't have any roses in it." She could see the roses in a side corridor they were walking by. Brilliant scarlet roses covered the hedges in the adjacent passage. They drew her for a closer look.

Alia could not resist caressing one of the blooms and laughed when her fingers came back red and wet, leaving a peach colored smear on the rose. "Leave it to Caereh to mix up her stories," she started when a small flash of silver moving through the foliage distracted her.

Bending over for a closer look she saw a large silver insect. "No, not an insect," she corrected herself. "Unless they have dragon-shaped insects here. That looks an awful lot like – but how could Caereh know about that?" Then she noticed that the tiny dragon did not look like her surroundings. It was not animated. It was real.

Alia held out her hand and the dragon crawled docilely onto it, delicately stepping around the red paint smeared on her fingertips. She held it up to examine it. Sure enough, it had Arten'barad's black streaked face and glowing silver eyes.

"What do you mean she's mixed up her stories?" Cara asked as she walked up behind Alia.

Alia quickly hid the dragon close to her body. "Um, the roses. She's painted them. Who knows why. They were an appropriate peach color before," she said pointing to the one she had smeared.

Arten'barad scurried up the front of Alia's shirt and hid in the collar near her ear while Cara was examining at the flower.

"What a waste of a perfectly good flower. What am I saying? It's not like they're real anyway." With that she dismissed the whole subject and joined Jareth where he waited to continue.

Alia followed her still making no mention of finding the dragon. It would take too much explanation, particularly for Cara who had never met the dragon, and she had no way of knowing whether Caereh and Hadrian were watching. Instinctively, she did not want them to know about the dragon if she could help it.

Which brought up another thought. Just how did Arten'barad get there and find them? Maybe Caereh and Hadrian already knew about her. After all, Hadrian had a stranglehold on all the magic in this simulation. But if they knew about her, why had they not appeared yet? She doubted Caereh would miss an opportunity to gloat and dash their hopes. Were Caereh and Hadrian waiting until the three of them had come up with a plan that they could crush? Alia shook her head. There was just no way of knowing.

Arten'barad, as if reading her mind, whispered directly into her ear, "I came looking for you. I worried when you and Tieran missed the appointment he made. The magic barriers made it difficult to find you, but did not stop me. Where is Tieran?"

Alia thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to answer her question without giving it all away. Finally she asked, "Jareth how much farther do you think it is to the castle?"

"That depends on what changes Caereh has made to this Labyrinth. It looks to be quite a distance yet."

"And we're running out of time to get there before she keeps Tieran and the rest of us," Alia answered him gloomily. "I wonder how much longer we have."

"Six or seven hours, perhaps. Unless Caereh gets capricious again. We've been wandering for some time."

"I see," Arten'barad whispered and then crawled back down inside her collar.

"Did you hear something?" Cara asked.

"What?" demanded Alia, slightly panicked. Surely the dragon had not been speaking that loudly?

"I thought I heard something. Footsteps maybe."

"It's probably the guards that tortured Ludo in the movie. Or the patrolling knight," Jareth suggested, pausing to listen.

"Then let's hope it misses us like in the movie," Alia said.

"Maybe," Cara said doubtfully as she pointed to the end of the corridor where they just caught some movement flashing past.

They quickly moved in the opposite direction, but it did not seem to help. Every time they paused to listen, they could still hear footsteps pattering nearby. They tried to move as quickly as they could, but had difficulty moving away from the knight and still toward the castle. Unless they could lose it, it would be only a matter of time before the knight stumbled on them.

And of course he did. He seemed just as inept as his movie counterpart, but this time luck was on his side, not the hero's. He caught sight of them as they rounded a corner and sounded an alarm on the horn he carried. Alia, Cara, and Jareth did not wait to see what it summoned. They ran.

They found out soon enough what the horn called. Soon a chorus of "Nippy, nippy, nip, nip!" hounded them.

Cara glanced back and saw a pack of four or five of them. "Stones wouldn't do me any good; I can't throw and run at the same time. Like Caereh would leave them laying around in her clean little Labyrinth anyway. How else can I confuse them?" A possibility came to her and she darted down a side passage. Either they would follow her or they would follow her two companions, which was what she really wanted them to do.

They split the difference. Two split off and trailed her while the larger group continued after Alia and Jareth. She decided that this might serve her purpose just as well. Just as she had hoped, this passage curved back on itself and joined the other before she had left it. "Perfect," she thought with a satisfied, wicked smile.

She ran faster to catch the main group. "I hope this works."

Catching them, she began to grab their helmets and twist them on their heads as Sarah had done with rocks. She had to work fast and dodge the Nippers at the same time, before her personal pair caught up. Hopefully she would have this group in such confusion by the time hers arrived that they would be too busy defending themselves to chase her.

She had turned all the helmets in reach and slipped through the troop unbitten when the remaining pair ran up and the melee sucked them in. She stood back for a few seconds to admire her handiwork, then moved out of range of the Nipper sticks.

She ran on in the direction she thought Alia and Jareth had taken, but in the confusion of ducking Nippers she had lost sight of them and did not catch up with them. "Looks like I've lost them. I wonder how many of us have to make it to the castle for us to win? Knowing Caereh, she won't honor it unless we're all there. I just hope there's more than one way to get there." She looked around for the castle to get her bearings and started off to find her own way there.


	19. Chapter 19

Hadrian had reappeared in the throne room soon after he had vanished, with a satisfied look on his face. No matter how Caereh tried, he would tell her nothing of what he had done. He said nothing at all. 

Caereh soon tired of interrogating a brick wall and turned sulking to a crystal for amusement. A pleased grin spread across her face as she sat in the window embrasure Tieran had occupied earlier, gazing into the crystal in the palm of her hand.

Abruptly she stood up and addressed Hadrian. "Now. It's time. Send me to the tunnels."

Hadrian obliged, waving her away without much care.

"What is she doing now?" Tieran asked Hadrian.

"Hmm?" Hadrian asked, rousing out of his reverie. "I sent her to the tunnels near the oubliette. You remember them from the movie, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Here watch yourself." Hadrian tossed Tieran a crystal ball.

Tieran caught it and wondered what accounted for Hadrian's suddenly pleasant mood. As he looked into the crystal, Cara was disagreeing with Caereh. Caereh gestured theatrically to a point in midair.

"I believe that was your cue," Tieran told Hadrian as Caereh snarled something he could not hear.

Hadrian only smiled and a clock appeared where Caereh pointed. Time began spinning off stopping at several minutes past eight. Caereh threw a crystal down the tunnel and his companions turned and ran.

Knowing what came next, Tieran looked up at Hadrian, who sat impassively slumped in his chair, attention concentrated out of this room. Then a sly smile grew on his lips.

"Watch this," he told Tieran.

Tieran turned back to the crystal, dreading the sight of the Cleaners chasing Alia and her companions. Instead he saw nothing and then Caereh standing by herself, looking down the tunnel in the direction she had thrown the crystal.

"What is she looking for?" Tieran asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Hadrian sounded very pleased with himself.

Tieran could just make out slow movement in the darkness beyond Caereh. What was it? It did not look big enough for the Cleaners. Had he missed them?

Then he saw it clearly. Two average sized goblins, one a little taller and thinner, the other shorter and fatter, worked their way toward Caereh, meticulously sweeping the very nearly nonexistent coating of dust on the tunnel floor.

Tieran smiled. He had to admit the cleverness of Hadrian's ploy, following the letter of Caereh's request, but still disobeying her. Caereh, on the other hand, did not appreciate the cunning involved.

"I think she missed your joke, Hadrian."

"No sense of humor at all. There, that will please her," he said as the Cleaners she had intended appeared in the tunnel. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to attend to." Hadrian vanished as Caereh reappeared.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"He just left," Tieran answered, surreptitiously dropping his hand with the crystal Hadrian had left with him, out of sight.

"No matter," Caereh said after a moment, convincing herself that Hadrian left out of fear of her wrath at his pranks.

"That went splendidly. They ran just like in the movie. You should have seen it." She paused again. Obviously she assumed that Tieran had no idea of what had really happened. "This calls for a celebration. Come here. I have something to show you."

Tieran remained seated on the throne as she walked toward the archway at one side of the room.

"Are you coming?" Caereh asked as she turned to check that he followed her.

"Not without good reason."

"How's this one? If you don't, I guarantee that you'll never get out of here, even if your friends do make it here in time."

"Where are we going?" Tieran asked as he walked across the room. The cat emerged from its retreat under the throne to follow Tieran.

"You'll see. Close your eyes," she told him as she covered them from behind with her hands. "This is going to be so much fun."

Tieran was beginning to regret it already.

"Turn to your right. Go up the stairs."

Tieran balked. "This will not work. Aside from climbing the stairs blind, I will not be able to climb them at all with you covering my eyes."

"Why not?"

"You will pull me over backward trying to reach my eyes."

"Oh." Tieran could imagine her pouting as she considered. "Then you'll have to promise not to peek."

He sighed. "All right."

"Good. Up the stairs."

Tieran took a step and nearly tripped over something soft. He involuntarily opened his eyes and looked down. "What was that?"

"That was your precious cat," Caereh said aiming a kick at it to move it out of the way. "You're not bringing it with you, are you?" she asked as he bent to pick it up.

"Yes, I am. There is only one way to keep a cat out from underfoot and that is to carry it." Tieran closed his eyes and started up the stairs.

Caereh guided him up the stairs, through a turn to the right, down another short flight of stairs, another turn, to the left this time, and finally up another long flight of stairs. She stopped him in the middle of a large room, judging by the echoes.

"Okay. Look."

Tieran opened his eyes and had no idea where she had brought him. The cat jumped down while he stood and stared at the room.

Directly in front of him a crystal chandelier hung in a window across his field of vision, not up and down, but from left to right, and behind it, along the right side of the floor to ceiling (or should that be wall to wall?) window, he could see the Labyrinth. As he followed the horizon upward to the ceiling, his gaze passed gauzy ivory curtains (also falling left to right) draped in front of a pale marble column. Above him a giant owl sat perched in another window, sitting on a sill where the ceiling joined the right hand wall.

The right wall repeated this scene at the proper orientation. The curtains behaved themselves and fell to the floor, as straight as gauze could, around a window showing the Labyrinth lying docilely at his feet in its proper position.

He checked to the left. This was the worst yet for his equilibrium. The Labyrinth took the place of the sky and a second owl hung from the ceiling. He turned around to look behind him.

They had entered the room through a door between two more windows with chandeliers, one hanging from the ceiling and the other sprouting from the floor.

"What do you think? Isn't it great?"

"It reminds me of the room with the stairs."

"I know. It's from another Escher print. Only instead of the moon and space in the print I used the Labyrinth. And I combined it with the ballroom. That's the chandeliers and the curtains. The chandeliers look much better than the horns Escher used. It's not like this is some hunting lodge."

"What do you use this room for?"

"It's a dining room, of course." She pointed to the table loaded with food that Tieran had missed in his first shock at the view.

"Of course," Tieran answered dubiously. "Why are we here?"

"To eat, obviously," she said as she walked toward the table.

"But we do not need to eat. We are computer animated."

"So is the food, so it all works out nicely, doesn't it? Sit." She pointed to the table.

Tieran carefully chose a seat that looked out at the normally oriented panorama with as little view of the other windows as possible. The computer may have drawn him, but he saw no sense in tempting fate.

Caereh began serving various dishes to their plates at her whim.

Tieran pushed her choices around his plate before trying a few bites. The food seemed to work for his tongue, but his mind would not let it pass unchallenged, trying to find something, some nuance wrong with it. He stopped after a few bites and tried to think about something else.

"Why are you going to all this trouble? Why not just animate me the way you want me?"

"Because that's not you. Besides, I already have that. Watch."

She concentrated somewhere else for a moment, her expression vacant for a few seconds. As her attention returned one figure, then another appeared standing in front of the window across the table from him.

Tieran recognized the first figure as himself dressed as Jareth. The other was Jareth dressed, of course, as Jareth.

"I brought him along for the heck of it," Caereh explained. "You see I already have you to do with as I please." Caereh sighed and walked over and sat on the arm of his chair. For once she had not calculated the movement, she simply sat there to talk. "The problem is, it's not the same. I have them programmed perfectly to interact, even be spontaneous, but they're still not alive."

"Neither am I in my current state. You said that before when I asked about the food. Everything here is computer generated."

"But it's different. I can change what you're wearing, just as I can with them." She demonstrated by changing Tieran's evening dress for the opera to red and white striped pajamas like Toby's in the movie. Then she changed both the imitations to match. "Hmm, I'd never considered Jareth in stripes. Cute isn't he?"

Tieran frowned in answer when she looked at him and she changed the clothing back, this time she dressed Tieran's imitation to match his current clothing instead of Jareth's. "Might as well make him authentic. Like I said, I can change your clothing – that's part of the programming for the game – but I can't tell you what to do. You're a human character interacting with the game. I can always override their programming, no matter how they've been told to act."

Caereh approached Tieran's double and turned on her charm for it.

"Have you missed me, darling?" she asked it, standing close.

In answer it put its arms around her waist and smiled. "Yes, you would not believe how much. Where have you been?"

"Here and there." Caereh snuggled closer and put her arms around its neck to kiss it. It responded wholeheartedly and its hands began to roam across her animation-emphasized curves.

The kiss dragged on and the whole thing made Tieran uncomfortable. It was one thing to watch two other people act like this, but to watch what looked like yourself with someone you disliked took it to a completely different level. In an effort to stop things before they went any further he asked, "Where did you get its voice?

Caereh pulled away from the simulation and answered, "From the outtakes of your recordings for the cartoon. It requires very little sampling to put the voice together." She shooed away the Tieran simulation and walked over to where the Jareth had sat down and put its feet up on the table. She sat down in its lap and began to play with its hair. "For Jareth I just use your recordings and the movie. If I want him to sing, I lift it from Bowie's albums of course."

"If this is your idea of celebration," Tieran said as he watched her flirt with the simulation, "I would like to be excused, please. Lock me up in a closet somewhere and you may celebrate all you like," he added disgustedly.

Caereh started to answer him when another giant owl flew up and landed on the window ledge.

"I was wondering where that owl was," Caereh said as she slipped off the Jareth's lap. "There was supposed to be one in every window. But they weren't supposed to fly." She stared at the bird in consternation, hand upon her hips. "They were supposed to just sit there. I'll bet Hadrian is behind this. Now what is he up to?"

.….

After a few minutes of running Jareth and Alia realized that the goblins no longer pursued them.

"Jareth! Wait! We've lost Cara. We have to go look for her."

"We'll never find her now. We have to keep traveling toward the castle."

"But what if they captured her or she's hurt?"

"We would have heard something from her if they did. We can't take time to stop and look for her. We do have a deadline, if you'll pardon the expression. Remember?"

Alia looked back the way they had come, hoping Cara would run around the corner.

"Come on. She's able take care of herself. We're saving Tieran, remember?"

Alia nodded and turned and followed Jareth.

Later, Alia caught herself humming and stopped as soon as she realized what she was doing, but Jareth noticed her doing it again a few minutes later.

"Just because Cara isn't here, doesn't mean you have to take her place singing that infernal song."

"I'm not singing, I'm humming and I can't help it. I tried stopping before. I guess I just miss the noise."

"You never thought you'd say that, did you?" Jareth asked as he considered which way to turn at an intersection.

"No, but humming hardly compares with singing it in full voice, either. Maybe I can try humming something else."

"Don't start with the bottles of beer either. At least try a real song," he requested as he selected the path to the left.

"I'm not sure I could carry a real tune. Not the whole song anyway."

"Then don't try. The same piece of tune over and over is as bad as bottles of beer and ants."

"You could do something, you know. You're the one with the singing scenes in the movie. And the fanfics, too, right? That's lots of practice," Alia tried cajoling him.

"No, thank you. I decline. If you want music you'll have to supply it yourself. I only request that you vary it a little."

"I'm not that desperate. It's about time we came to something other than hedges," Alia said as they reached a wall patchily covered in vines. Set into the wall was a small gate of iron bars, partially overgrown by the vines.

"Do we go through here or keep going in the maze?" Alia asked as she peered between the bars at the dim forest beyond.

"The forest should be the shortest way to the castle," Jareth replied.

"Then it's through the gate. I hope the Fireys are somewhere else. I'm too tired to fight for my ears."

"There's little chance of that. The Fireys are never somewhere else. Perhaps, if we're lucky, Caereh didn't include them," Jareth told her as he ripped the vines away from the gate. Once he had it cleared, he pulled on the gate. It did not move.

"Is it locked?"

"I don't see a lock. Maybe it's only rusted."

"As clean as Caereh has made this place I find that hard to believe." Alia joined him at the gate and pulled at it with him. They gave it a few good yanks and it came free suddenly with a screech.

It protested even louder as they pulled it further open, with a noise that Alia felt in her bones and set her teeth on edge. They squeezed through the narrow opening.

"Do we close it again?" Alia asked.

"You can if you like. I'm not going to bother."

"But, what about the Fireys? Won't they get into the Labyrinth?"

Jareth laughed. "The Fireys could get out of the forest any time they liked by climbing over the wall. More likely the gate is to keep the creatures of that part of the Labyrinth out of the forest. What does it matter anyway where the creatures of Caereh's Labyrinth end up?"

Alia rubbed the rust from the gate off of her hands onto her jeans, leaving red-orange smears on the backs of her thighs, and followed Jareth as he set off into the forest.

The forest lay deadly still around them. Alia heard no birds singing, no insects calling, no creatures rustling in the undergrowth.

"It sure is quiet," she whispered.

"Thinking of singing again?"

"It was humming and no, definitely not."

"Good. The silence is bad, but it would be worse with your tunes. Come now," he said after a long pause. "I expected a snappy rejoinder or at least a loud protest after that insult. You must be getting soft, Alia. Alia?"

He turned to look behind him. She was not there. He started to go back to look for her, thinking that perhaps something distracted her and she had wandered off, but then he remembered the movie.

She had not wandered off. Something had taken her.


	20. Chapter 20

Cara talked to herself as she made her way to the castle. 

"What came next in the movie? Let's see, in the movie Sarah and Hoggle missed the guard and then Hoggle ran away when they heard Ludo yelling. We met the guard instead and I got lost. I wonder if Ludo will show up for them or for me? Maybe both of us? Then we'd have two of them if we all made it to the castle.

"I wonder what Ludo will look like animated? Fur usually doesn't animate well. He'll probably be a disappointment."

"Hey, now this is different," Cara said as the hedges ended, opening into a flat area filled with raised pools. The light seemed brighter here than in other areas of the Labyrinth so far and Cara could just see walls off in the distance where this water garden ended. The maze continued in this area as well, with paths running between the chest high walls of the pools, which made the walls low enough to see over, but really too high to climb easily.

"But what if I just climbed them once and walked on top and jumped from wall to wall?" Cara mused. She examined the nearest wall. Constructed of the drab gold stone again, it narrowed at the top making walking on it nearly impossible for anyone but a tightrope artist. Cara did not relish falling into the weed covered ponds on a regular basis. "That takes care of that idea."

As she worked her way across the garden, she noticed a familiar odor she could not quite place. The plants she had dismissed as water weeds had to be producing it. She looked at them more closely.

"They look familiar, too. Where have I seen them?" She felt memories of them somewhere. She teased them out getting an impression of being very small, very young. The flowers had been much bigger then.

"And they were different colors. Pink... and yellow... and white, not orange and red like these. I was little and it was a big garden with a pond. My parents took me and my mother showed me the fish in the pond and the flowers. She told me about the flowers. What were they called?" Cara clutched her fists in frustration as she walked. The name flitted just out of reach, on the tip of her tongue. The smell of so many of the flowers gave her a headache and made it difficult to concentrate and follow the memory.

"Which is odd when you think about it, because they're computer-generated flowers and it's a computer-generated scent. It shouldn't affect me. But I do have a computer generated head, so I suppose it all makes some sort of sense. It's just more complicated than I thought it would be," she sighed and returned to her former question.

"Now what were these annoying flowers called? Lily? No, they weren't water lilies. It started with an 'l' though. They were... lotus! That's what they were called! And there was something about gods..." She threaded her way through the maze, remembering more and more of that day almost 20 years ago.

It must have happened several years after they had moved to America, though she had no memories of that at all. It seemed to her that she had started kindergarten soon after this day.

"No, that's not right. It was a reward. We went after I started. It was a special garden, for a temple or something and we had to drive a long way.

"And there were bright pictures in the temple, and some of them scared me. Only I didn't say anything after the first one because they said the pictures were gods and I shouldn't be afraid of them. I had nightmares with those pictures in them for a long time." She shook her head to banish the faint memories about the dreams.

"And then we went outside and there were statues and Mataji showed me the pond and the fish and the flowers. And she told me about a goddess. Which one was it? It was an important one, she said. Something to do with being happy and getting everything you want."

As she tried to remember the story her mother told her, Cara found the center of the water garden maze where four paths came together in a circular, paved clearing. She paused a moment then continued across to the path that looked most in the direction of the castle.

Gusts of wind buffeted her as a huge barn owl landed in front of her. It settled its wings and crouched, blinking at her. Then a figure sitting on its back moved, drawing Cara's attention. The woman, dressed in a brilliant red sari, got down from the owl's back and stood in front of Cara.

"Who are you?" Cara asked.

"Don't you know?" The woman's numerous bangles clattered and chimed against her golden skin as she moved.

"If I knew, I wouldn't ask. Should I recognize you?"

"All good Hindus recognize me, worship me. I bring pleasure and prosperity to the faithful who appease me. I am Lakshmi, I give all good things. I am Shreedevi, I make kings out of men. I am Bhudevi, I give all creatures food and shelter."

Recognition dawned on Cara. "You're the goddess she told me about! Mataji said by praying to you I could get anything I wanted. Of course since I was about five at the time anything I wanted encompassed toys and candy and not much else. So why are you here? Why am I seeing you now? I haven't prayed to you."

"I am here to give you a second chance. To show you what you have refused by turning away from your parents, by not doing as they bid you."

"I know what I turned down. Marriage to some guy I'd never met and a life of doing what he tells me, if I'm lucky."

"Look what you have refused." Lakshmi cleared the lotuses from a corner of the nearest pond. The open water made a dark mirror, pictures forming on its surface.

Cara saw herself dressed in a sari, decked with gold jewelry – the wedding ceremony she would have had. This faded and a large house appeared surrounded by plants she did not recognize, the house in India she would have lived in.

The house also faded. Another image formed – she recognized herself again – showing her commanding many servants. Her clothing had changed. She no longer wore the wedding sari, but her clothes, something she would never wear ordinarily, were not fully western either.

Then she faded and reappeared again, this time she had aged. Her hair had grown long and was pulled back from her face. She stood outside and four children ran up to her. She greeted them with hugs and kisses, apparently very fond of them.

"Children? I would have had four children?"

"Perhaps more. That is the number at this point in time. Do you see what you have given up?"

"Oh yeah, I sure do."

"Wasn't it such a small thing for them to ask? Just that you do as they bid you, marry who they arranged for you, like an obedient child? Your parents only wanted the best for you. They knew better than you what your proper life would be."

"No."

"Remember what your mataji told you, do what you are told and perform the prayers and rituals properly and faithfully and you will lead a good life."

"No. I won't do anything that woman told me." Cara dismissed her tender childhood memories – even they had the betrayal running through them. "She wanted me to get an education, so I got it, but when I found something I wanted to do she wanted me to drop everything and give it all up. Everything I had worked for like she told me. Just so I could move to India and marry who they found for me. So that they could cement another business relation."

"You help your family and they help you. You are never alone in anything you do," the goddess instructed. "You must consider the family's welfare. The family must come before the individual. The family comes before everything."

"Oh yeah, sure. Family's important. As long as it behaves. Family helps you as long as you're doing what they want you to do. What you want doesn't matter. Just what they want."

"It wasn't all for them. Look what you would have gotten. Remember what the vision showed you."

"I don't want that. My husband telling me what to do, what to wear, how to live. Four children, maybe more. I don't want that."

"You said you wanted wealth and power. You wanted to be rich. You wanted a powerful husband."

"I wanted to do my own thing, not my husband's. And I don't want to have a cooking accident if my husband's family doesn't like me."

"You've seen that that won't happen. You will be rich. You will have servants to command. You will have many children to take care of you when you are old. That is what every Indian woman prays for."

"But it's not what I pray for. I don't even want the same things now that I thought I wanted then. Wealth and power were high-school dreams. I don't want that anymore. I just want to be happy. And my idea of happy does not include moving to India. Now leave me alone and let me solve this Labyrinth."

Cara turned to continue on her way through the maze and found her way blocked by the owl, dozing in the sun. Her abrupt movement had caught the bird's attention and it turned its head to look at her. She had forgotten about the bird, but it gave her an idea.

She vaulted for the bird's back. Why walk thorough the Labyrinth when you could fly over it? She clutched handfuls of soft, tawny feathers as the startled bird hopped into the air.

"Okay, now how did she control this thing?" Cara asked herself as the owl wheeled over the water gardens and then headed off at an angle slightly to the left of the castle. She tried talking to it, leaning to the side, and kicking the bird, but nothing made any difference in its flight. "With my luck it probably only understands Hindi. Another thing I should have done like my parents told me," she said sourly.

"Well, I am still sort of moving toward the castle. That's better than nothing or the opposite direction." She watched the terrain passing beneath her. They had flown beyond the organized mazes and now passed over a rocky wilderness. In the distance she could see a forest, a wall, and a flat, drab lowland. "That must be the Bog. Just as long as it doesn't drop me off there I'll be happy."

As if triggered by her thoughts, the owl began to descend and landed in a clearing near the summit of a rocky hillside. Cara tried to get it to take off again, but it crouched down and refused to move. Cara had the distinct impression that it was sulking.

"What else should I expect from a barn owl? This is probably where Jareth gets it."

She swung her legs over to one side and slid down off the owl's back. Almost as soon as her feet touched the ground, the owl roused. Cara backed away from the bird and it hopped into the air again and flew back the way they had come.

* * *

Mataji, in case you couldn't figure it out from context is Hindi for mother. The goddess is an actual Hindu goddess and is really associated with owls. Cool, huh? 


	21. Chapter 21

Suddenly, the ground dropped out from under Alia and she fell through darkness, landing on a smooth stone floor, cold and polished to the touch. 

"Jareth are you there?" She didn't think he had fallen with her, but it didn't hurt to check.

"No Jareth, just me," Arten'barad said in a soft voice under her ear.

She welcomed the presence of the tiny dragon she had forgotten, relieved to know she was not completely alone in this darkness. "Darkness again," she muttered. "When I get out of here I'm going to invest in a pair of night vision goggles and carry them with me at all times."

"Is this better?" A bright spotlight illuminated Alia as she sat on the floor. She could now see about three feet around her, but nothing in the darkness beyond.

"Who's there?" she demanded as she stood up.

A laugh surrounding her answered her.

Alia groaned. It had to be Hadrian.

"I thought you would be happy to see me." The voice sounded close by, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't see you." She felt Arten'barad crawling down inside her shirt again to hide and restrained herself from squirming at the sensation of movement and tiny claws against her bare skin.

Hadrian appeared suddenly just beyond the edge of the light.

"Why am I here?" she demanded.

"Why are you doing any of this? Because I want you to."

"Yeah, I know, but why am I here? What am I supposed to do now? There's always a puzzle to solve with these things. Something to overcome."

"Right you are," he said circling her. "In your case I think I have come up with just the thing."

"What?"

"How about a little incentive first?" Hadrian gestured into the darkness and a scene illuminated showing Caereh walking up to Tieran and speaking to him soundlessly – a scene from a play where she could not hear the words being spoken. Tieran answered Caereh, put his arms around her, and kissed her.

Hadrian froze the movement in the scene as Tieran moved his hands down Caereh's back.

"Oops. Poor timing on my part, wasn't it?" Hadrian commented on the sight.

"That never happened. Tieran hates her. There's no way he would tolerate Caereh and do that."

"Perhaps not before, but you forget about magic. People can be made to forget things. The conscience can be repressed. Subconscious feelings brought to the surface. Let's see what else he does."

The frozen scene darkened and another glowed and came to life a short distance away. Caereh and Tieran played the only parts in this scene as well, but it allowed no doubt about tolerance. The two lay in bed together, obviously very intimate. They spoke, but once again Alia could not hear their words and Caereh's hair prevented her from reading their lips.

"What is this?" Alia demanded.

"This is what will happen if you do not make it through the Labyrinth and to the castle in time. You will all stay in the Labyrinth until Caereh tires of you, remember?"

"But where am I?"

"Who knows what she did with you? It's not important – you're not in this scene."

"Tieran wouldn't do this. I told you. He loves me, not her."

"Then she must have done something with you. Gotten rid of you for good, don't you think? I'm not surprised, really. She's got a one track mind and she really doesn't like you much." Hadrian froze the scene again, leaving an ugly tableau of laughter over something one of them had said. He turned to Alia.

"I think you should consider cutting your losses now. It's becoming fairly obvious that your loverboy doesn't care for you as much as you think he does. We could come to an arrangement, you and I. Caereh can't do anything without me. It would be simple for me to fool her when she gets rid of you, if you agree to come with me. I haven't had a pet in quite a while and your life would be much more interesting than it is now."

"No."

"Let's just see what else happens, shall we? You may change your mind." The bedroom scene faded and he directed her attention to the other side of the chamber. "This is what happens if you do succeed."

This time Caereh sat alone in a living room decorated in shades of white, taupe, and beige, a room on earth, for an entertainment center with a television could be seen off to one side. As Alia watched Tieran appeared in the room and Caereh looked up at him.

"What was it this time?" the dark haired woman asked. Alia jumped at the voice, not expecting to be able to hear the dialogue.

"Alia," Tieran answered in a disgusted tone as he sat by her feet on the couch. "She was feeling insecure again and wanted me to hold her hand."

"Why don't you get rid of that baby?" Apparently, it hadn't suited Hadrian to let her hear what they said before, but this played right into his hands. "She demands too much of your time, always wanting you to be there at her beck and call."

"I don't do that!" Alia exclaimed, but Caereh's words planted seeds of doubt. "I don't, do I?" she could not help wondering to herself.

"You never should have married her," Caereh continued.

"I couldn't do anything else." Tieran shrugged and laid his head on the back of the couch. "She expected it."

"Well, get rid of her, darling," Caereh said as she leaned forward and stroked his face. "She's dragging you down." She kissed him and he kissed her back.

Alia stood watching, speechless.

"There must be something you can do," Caereh urged him when they finally broke apart.

"I'll send her away. Maybe Jareth'll want her," Tieran mused. "He owes both of us so he can do me a favor and make her think he's doing her a favor."

"No," Alia whispered starting to believe despite herself.

"Alia, use your brain, girl," Arten'barad hissed into her ear. "That is not your Tieran. That could never be Tieran. Listen to him. He would never say anything like that."

"No," Alia said with more assurance. Arten'barad was right. "Tieran doesn't manipulate people like that. That's not Tieran. You're not going to fool me."

"People change," Hadrian reminded her, letting the scene fade.

"How can you know the future anyway? You can't predict the future."

"I do it all the time. I did it for Cara not too long ago. She believed me. There's more. Watch."

"I don't want to see anymore of your lies."

"Oh, you won't want to miss this," he told her with a feral grin as he turned her and shoved her toward the next scene.

Alia stumbled blind through the dark and then the sounds of a party deafened her as she stumbled into the light again. People in fancy dress surrounded her. Dazed and confused by the change in surroundings, she looked around for something familiar. At a short distance she saw Tieran conversing with a group of people.

She started to make her way toward him, but then saw a fleeting expression of distaste move across his features as he noticed her. She stopped and began to turn away from him when his expression hardened and he excused himself and made his way toward her.

"What do you want now?" he demanded. "Can't you amuse yourself at a simple party? Everywhere I turn you're there dragging at my heels." His voice rose a little louder than the surrounding conversations and began to attract attention. Alia stared at him, stricken by the accusation.

"Just once I'd like to be able to enjoy myself without you tugging at my sleeve. It's nearly impossible to persuade you to do anything and then when we do go somewhere and do something, you make me miserable the whole night. Your clinging is suffocating me." The silence had spread through the whole hall making them the center of attention. "I've had enough. I don't ever want to see you again."

Alia just stood in front of him, stunned, trying not to cry. She could not believe he really felt this way. He had said he didn't enjoy parties.

"Stop being foolish, Alia," Arten'barad told her again. "I told you that is not Tieran. If you would listen to him, you would know it, too. It is Hadrian playing with you. Find your backbone and tell him so."

_"But I am listening to him. I heard what he said. He doesn't love me."_

"Go on run back to your little mousehole," Tieran taunted.

"No, not that. His words. Listen to his words."

"Don't let me keep you from your precious history and books. All your friends are dead and gone, maybe you should join them. Yes, why don't you join them?"

Suddenly Alia understood. She heard what he was saying, realized what the dragon was telling her. She stiffened with outrage.

"Get away from me, you impostor." She advanced on him. "How dare you play with my emotions? How dare you presume to try to speak his mind?" He started to back away from her now. "You know nothing about him. Get away from me and take your offer with you. I want no part of it."

The figure of Tieran standing before her melted into Hadrian and the party disappeared.

"So be it. You've had your chance. May you live to regret your choice," he declared as he faded, taking the light with him. As the last of the light and his voice disappeared the floor fell out from under her and she dropped again.


	22. Chapter 22

Caereh produced a crystal to check on Hadrian's whereabouts and the progress of the game.

"I think I'll take you up on your suggestion," she told Tieran after a quick survey.

"My suggestion?"

"Yes, let's go find you a closet. There has to be one around here somewhere. I have things to do and Hadrian is... occupied," Caereh told Tieran with a pause and twist of her mouth that made him hope something other than his friends occupied Hadrian.

They left the dining room, the black cat slipping out the door with them, and Tieran followed Caereh docilely down the stairs.

"Why not leave me in the dining room?"

"And have you taking off on an owl? Not likely." They had reached the floor below the dining room and Caereh tried doors, unlocking them with a key she carried. "Here we are," she said at the third one. "Home sweet home."

Tieran stood looking in at the little room while Caereh held the door open. The cat wandered in to inspect the accommodations.

"Don't just stand there. Get in there," Caereh said and gave him a rough shove. Tieran stumbled into the closet and Caereh closed the door behind him.

"Enjoy your stay," she told him as she turned the key in the lock and pocketed it. She checked a crystal again and nodded to herself as she walked down the hall. "I think I'll make her the first stop."

.….

Cara sighed as she watched the owl fly away. "Easy come, easy go."

She looked around and sighting the castle in the distance, made her way down that side of the hill. Surprisingly, she seemed to have stumbled onto a path in the rocky hillside.

Winding her way down the hillside, Cara thought about the encounter she had just had. She had thought she had everything figured out, that everything came in black or white, right or wrong. Now everything had become muddied shades of gray. She had answered the goddess so definitely at the time, but she no longer felt the same certainty.

She had to admit that her parents were probably only trying to do what they thought was the best thing for her, but it still felt like a betrayal. She supposed she had just become too Americanized to understand them and their customs anymore.

She sighed again. And whether she understood them or forgave them or not, it did not matter at this point. They still were not speaking to her anymore. They would only forgive her if she gave up and did what they wanted her to do.

"Fat chance of that. They can just stay there in India," she muttered and the comment triggered another thought. Where had the goddess come from? Was she only a computer character? A real god from the world outside the computer? No, kill that idea. The owl would never have let Cara ride it if it belonged to a real goddess. And if the goddess had been real, she probably could have gotten them out of this computer – a proposition that would have made a good bargaining chip when trying to persuade Cara to do as her parents said.

"Not that I would have taken it. I wish I could do something and get us all out of here, but it's not worth it. I don't think I could manage it, not even for Alia." She shook her head.

"So if she's not a real god, but just a computer animation, where did she come from? They must have pulled references to her out of my mind. Or done a lot of research. Either way, Hadrian must have done it. It's too subtle for Caereh, totally out of character for her and it has nothing to do with the movie."

"Well, if it isn't you. And... ah... where are you going?"

Cara looked up from the path in the direction of the voice. Speak of the devil, Caereh reclined on a rock in front of a skeletal tree.

"Gee, I don't know. I thought I'd run out for a pizza. Where do you think I'm going?"

Caereh smiled indulgently, ignoring the sarcasm as she stood up. Instead she exclaimed, "You've lost your friends!" and pulled a sad face. "Where are they?"

"You tell me. I haven't seen them in quite a while."

"You expect me to know something about it?" Caereh feigned innocence.

"No, nothing at all," Cara muttered. She had just recognized the scene around her. "So what's the point of this little visit? I can't think of anything you would want to warn me about. I don't suppose it's to give me directions? No, I didn't think so. If you'll excuse me then, I have places to go," Cara said as she turned to continue. She found Caereh blocking the path in front of her.

"But I have a much better plan."

"Yeah, like what?" Cara took a step back and crossed her arms across her chest. "I can't wait to hear this," she thought.

"You could wait right here. Your friends won't win without you and that would please me very much. I'm sure I could have Hadrian reward you nicely for it. I think he likes you anyway. There's no telling what he would do for you. You could leave Alia here with Tieran, Jareth with me, and do whatever you wanted with Hadrian."

"No thanks. I don't want anything to do with Hadrian. You can keep him. If he will do anything you want him to, why don't you just keep Hadrian? He has to be more powerful than Jareth anyway, if he can keep him here."

"But he's not Jareth and Jareth is what I want."

"Whatever. I don't have time for this."

"Wait. If you change your mind, you can always use this." Caereh tried to flip a crystal out of thin air, but missed and flung it across the clearing where it rolled to a stop at Cara's feet.

"Is this what you were trying to do?" She picked it up and demonstrated what Jareth had taught her, rolling it from arm to arm with a smile. Caereh glared at her murderously and disappeared.

.….

Jareth frowned worriedly and rubbed his forehead as he looked at the forest around him. "I hope she turns up or Tieran will kill me," he said with a sigh.

As Jareth walked deeper into the forest a mist grew between the trees, thickening until he could follow the path only a few feet in front of him. The low sun lit the mist with a golden glow and where it found its way through a thinning in the mist it gilded the branches as they loomed in front of him.

"Very impressive animation. I could not have gotten more atmospheric myself," Jareth admired. His voice fell dead in the silence of the forest, muted by the fog.

As he walked further into the forest the golden glow dimmed, the sun reluctant to brave this part of the forest. The mist faded and grayed around him, swirling and eddying uneasily among the trees as if it wished to follow the sunlight and leave this unwholesome part of the forest to slumber alone.

Jareth caught the movement from the corner of his eye. "Good, a breeze. The dark is bad enough without the mist."

But the fog did not clear. The light faded more and more and the movement between the trees grew more agitated. Jareth continued walking.

When the rhythmic tapping began, he knew the encounter that he had hoped to avoid had arrived. Wild cries joined the tapping and shapes darted through the mist around him. When he reached a clearing they surrounded him and a prepared bonfire burst into flames. The mist melted away into the darkness.

Jareth tried to slip through the ring of Fireys, but they would not let him go that easily, moving with him to keep him surrounded as they sang their songs. He decided to wait them out and hoped their fit would not last long before it moved on.

He stood aloof in the middle of their ring, arms crossed and scowling with disapproval and impatience. This attitude made him a magnet for their hilarity.

"This is the way you dare to treat your King?" he demanded as he threw one off his shoulders.

"King? What King? I don't see no King 'round here. You see a King?"

"No one here but us. I don't see no King. Who needs a King?"

"No King! No King!"

"Idiots! I am the King!" Jareth stormed

"Hey, maybe it's one of us!" the Fireys continued, oblivious.

"Yeah! You the King!" one of them told another.

"Why thank ya. Thank ya vurry much," the second one answered with a sneer and wiggle. The temporary lull of semi-sanity collapsed into chaos again and first one, then another jumped on Jareth, trying to induce him to join in on their fun.

He shook off each one as they tried to grab his hair, his ears, tried to remove his head. "Let me pass or you will regret it."

"Ooh, I'm trembling. Whatcha gonna do to us?

"This." Jareth moved to produce a crystal ball.

"How soon we forget. Old habits are so hard to break."

Jareth quickly looked up at the voice. Hadrian's pale face floated disembodied in the tree, Cheshire cat-like. He had chosen to exaggerate the planes of his face with the computer animation and they reflected the firelight like an angular sculpture. A slow grin spread across his face, bending stone, as he saw Jareth realize what he had tried to do.

Hadrian dropped lightly from the tree into the midst of the Fireys that had run clamoring to the foot of it when they saw him. Jareth took advantage of their distraction and left the clearing.

Hadrian pulled his attention from the fawning Fireys and called out after Jareth, "Leaving so soon? Your guest is leaving, gentlemen. You're not going to let him go already, are you?" he asked the Fireys.

"Leaving? He can't leave yet."

"No, he can't leave."

"He hasn't played the game."

"We haven't taken his head off yet." They ran in pursuit of Jareth.

Jareth glanced over his shoulder at the pursuit as he began to run. What he saw made him run faster. These Fireys went beyond the creatures of his Labyrinth. While both fun-loving creatures, their definition of fun varied. Where the Fireys he knew had no idea that other creatures were put together differently with different ideas of fun, these animated Fireys knew other creatures were different. He could see it in their glowing eyes. They knew he did not come apart naturally and it was there that their fun lay – in taking him apart anyway.

Hadrian knew this as well, judging by the evil, satisfied half-smile on his face as he watched them run.

"He's running. Traveling." One of the creatures whistled stridently.

"Yeah, we get a free throw."

Jareth stooped and picked up a branch, then turned to face them. He swung at the nearest Firey, making solid contact with a thwack and crunch as wood fibers in the branch splintered. The head sailed deep into the woods.

"That's it. Hit it over the fence," Hadrian cheered from a low branch in a nearby tree.

Jareth swung again, catching the next one under the chin and sending it back into the one just coming up behind it.

"Well played." Hadrian applauded politely.

If he had had time to aim, Jareth would have sent a few heads in Hadrian's direction in an attempt to knock him out of his tree or at least silence him. The next head he swung at took the limb in its mouth and hung on like a terrier, pulling Jareth off balance with the unexpected weight and resistance. He jabbed the branch at the nearest abdomen, head and all, and took a leg in exchange.

"Just how many of them are there?" he wondered as he took off two more heads.

After a few more swipes he ran out of heads and began pulling and tossing limbs for good measure. During a lull when no more bodies came within reach, he realized he had not heard anything from Hadrian since he lost the branch and glanced up to see what he was plotting now. The branch was empty.

Panting lightly, Jareth saw that he had exhausted his supply of Fireys. He ran through the woods, putting as much distance between himself and the Fireys as he could before they reassembled.

When he saw the wall ahead, Jareth congratulated himself on running in the right direction. "But perhaps every direction is the right direction here," he thought.

Surveying the wall from its base he saw the climb was not long or difficult, but would have been made easier with the addition of a rope. Of course there was no rope in sight. "Why is it that the helpful bits from the movie are always missing, but the nasty bits are all left in?" he sighed and began climbing. As he started, the Fireys pulled themselves back together and launched a second assault.

"Hey. Come back here. You still owe us a free throw."

"Yeah, we get to take your head off."

"What should we do with him?"

"He looks like he'd make for a good game."

"Maybe a couple of games."

"Yeah, he might last that long."

They jumped him halfway up the wall and began pulling at him in earnest – no stopping at just an ear for this crew. Jareth kicked away a Firey dragging on his foot and kept climbing.

"I want a leg. I never get a leg."

"Okay, but I got the right arm. It's mine."

"Can I have the hand? You don't need the hand."

One of the Fireys grabbed his head, wrapping its long fingers around his face and covering his eyes. Jareth panicked for a moment. He had to get the thing off – he could not climb blind. But how? He could not afford to let go of the wall long enough to pull it off with all of the other creatures hanging on him. He shook his head trying to loosen its hold.

"Hey! Let go the head. You gonna mess up the face."

"What do you care?" asked a voice directly behind him, the owner of the hands. "It's gonna get messed up in the game anyway. They always do. Remember that last one? His own ma wouldn't a recognized him." But the hands loosened and moved back to his ears, using them as handles instead, and Jareth could see to climb again.

He pulled himself and two or three Fireys up the wall, moving as fast as he could so they would not be able to find handholds for leverage to start pulling him to pieces. Suddenly he ran out of wall to reach for and dragged himself over the edge. Jareth dislodged the hangers-on, tossed them over the low parapet on the wall and stood up. He turned around face to face with a hovering head and swatted at it to shoo it away as he began to walk to the right along the wall.

They followed him for a short way, continuing to threaten him, but without their bodies – thankfully left at the foot of the wall – the threats were empty. Eventually they gave up following him altogether.


	23. Chapter 23

Alia landed in the soft earth near the shore of a body of water with a bump that knocked the breath out of her. When she was finally able to suck air back into her lungs she knew exactly where she had landed.

"Bah! The Bog!" The surface of the bog near her bubbled and shuddered to emphasize her statement.

Alia jerked involuntarily as something crawled inside her shirt. She panicked before she remembered that Arten'barad had been hiding inside it.

"I am sorry," the dragon apologized. "I was knocked loose by the landing. Where are we? Ah, never mind, I know where we are."

"It's not too bad, really. Better than I expected. Maybe even a little better than the river I had to cross."

"This is only a weak imitation of the real thing, I assure you."

"I've got to get out of here. Which way is the castle?" She looked around, but could not see the castle anywhere in the distance. "Away from the wall is a good guess." She picked her way along the edge of the heaving pool of – "Never mind what it is. I don't want to know."

Alia managed to stay dry until she reached the end of a peninsula pointing across a wide body of liquid Bog at a forest of normal looking trees on the opposite bank.

"This looks like the place where there was a bridge in the movie, but there's no bridge here now." She climbed up on a rise and looked down at the swamp. "No sign of the rocks Ludo called to get them across either. Looks like I'm stuck here unless I want to wade." She grimaced as she sat down on a log to decide just how badly she wanted to get to the other side.

.….

Cara scrambled along the path, loose stones disturbed by her feet rattling down the hillside.

"Loafers," she thought. "Sarah had to be wearing loafers. What I wouldn't give for a good pair of hiking boots right now." She slipped on a loose stone and sat down abruptly. "Ow!" Luckily the hillside was so steep at that point that she did not have far to go – she was nearly on all fours already.

She got up and kept moving, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her dusty sleeve. She glanced up, checking the location of the castle in the distance.

"Yep, there it is. Right on target."

Just as she looked back down at the path, she missed her step and lost her balance. She fell again and kept sliding down the hillside, following the stone that had turned under her foot. She grabbed for something to stop her and finally found a rock large and solid enough to stop her a few feet from the edge of a sharp dropoff.

"Well, that's one way to get down."

Cara looked up as Hadrian crouched above her.

"Yeah, it's the only way to go," Cara said crossly as she tried to get up without sliding the rest of the way to the edge. "Are you going to help me or are you just going to sit there?"

"Would you like some help?"

"Oh, never mind. I probably can't afford the price. What is it with you guys? I just can't get rid of you. Caereh leaves and you show up a few minutes later. I should have known I was getting off too easy with her."

"Really?" Hadrian asked, offering her his hand. "What did she want?"

"As if you didn't know," Cara said as she took his hand anyway. "She wanted me to throw the whole thing and quit trying to get to the castle. So she would get Jareth and I would get you. She even tried to give me a crystal in case I changed my mind."

"You must admit the proposition has some appeal," Hadrian told her as he kept her hand after she got to her feet and pulled her closer to him.

"No. It was her proposition, not mine. You have no appeal at all." She pulled her hand free and walked for the path where it wound its way safely down the side of the hill.

"None at all?" Hadrian demanded, appearing in front of her. "I suppose that Jareth is more to your liking, as well?"

Cara shrugged. "He certainly has more chance than you have." She tried to step around Hadrian.

Hadrian grabbed her and held her, thumb and forefingers nestled behind the curve of her jaw. "Has he now? Well, how is this for a proposition straight from the movie? If he kisses you – if he so much as touches you or you touch him – you'll both end up in the Bog." He released her chin.

"Jealous much?" she asked as she rubbed her throat. "That was a highly original threat. You know, you've never had a chance and antics like that don't add anything in your favor."

"Make light of it all you like, just as long as you understand me."

"Yeah, yeah," Cara called back over her shoulder. "No kissy-kissy with Jareth. No physical contact at all, whatsoever. No problem. I'd have to find him again first anyway."

"Try that way." Hadrian pointed.

Cara looked the direction he pointed – to the left along a wall that sliced through the hill. "Oh, so now you're all helpful. Geez, I wish you'd pick a mood and stay with it," she said as she turned back to him and found herself talking to an empty hillside.

She considered taking the direction Hadrian had pointed out. It didn't really seem like an intelligent thing to do, following his directions, but as Hoggle would have said, "What choice do you got?"

"Not much, really." She couldn't get past the long drop on the other side of the wall to continue straight for the castle, leaving only left or right along it. Looking to the right the wall curved in a general trend away from the castle. As much as she hated the idea of it, following the wall to the left looked like the best choice, the one she would have made anyway.

.….

The key turned in the lock on the other side of the door and Tieran heard Caereh walk away.

"I have become one of those stupid heroes I always scorned in books," he thought as he slid down the wall facing the door and sat on the floor after testing the door. "I just followed her here, did exactly as she said. I should have at least tried to escape, run away from her, something. I thought I was smarter than this." He looked around the tiny room. It was completely empty except for himself and the cat.

"Well, cat, at least we have a light," he said as he looked up at the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. "That makes it one step above an oubliette."

The black cat strolled over and rubbed against him, insinuating itself under his jacket, then slipping back out again. As the jacket fell back from the cat something hard and heavy hit the side of his leg.

"And we have a crystal." He pulled it from his pocket. "I wonder if I can direct its magic? What do I want to do with it?"

He considered a moment. "Remove myself from this closet? Why stop there? Why not wish myself to join the others?"

He shook his head. "No, that will not help the situation. We would still have to reach the castle to have any hope of Caereh and Hadrian releasing us. I should wish them here to the castle."

He concentrated, willing Alia, Cara, and Jareth to materialize in the corridor outside his closet. He felt no response from the crystal and heard nothing from the other side of the door.

"Perhaps it only shows things," he told the cat, trying to be optimistic. He gazed into the crystal, trying to see Alia, Cara, Jareth, anyone, but had no success.

He sighed. "What we have here, cat, is a very pretty paperweight. It only works for Hadrian." He rolled it across the floor and watched the cat, who followed the movement with slight interest then pinned his ears back and hissed.

"Not a great cat toy, I will admit, but it deserves better than that," he told the black cat, then realized, as the crystal ball hit his leg that the cat was not commenting on the ball. A leggy kitten – a real, flesh and blood cat – followed the crystal ball closely.

"What are you doing here?" Tieran asked his Christmas present as he picked him up.

The adolescent feline looked up into his face and delicately sniffed at his chin, following it with a tiny sneeze.

"Yes, I know. I smell different. So would you if you had been animated by a computer. But since you have not been, how did you get here?" The ivory kitten squirmed in his arms, avoiding the question and Tieran let him down.

"I would leave him alone for now if I were you," Tieran warned the kitten as he walked over to the black cat crouched in the corner, growling. Compared to the real kitten, the animated cat, such a realistic creation before, was an obvious, poor imitation.

Imitation or no, it still behaved like a real cat and, when the kitten came too close, it swiped at its face. Tieran could have sworn the cat hit the kitten, but when he scooped him back up out of reach and examined the silvery mask developing on its face, did not see a scratch on the kitten.

"You were lucky this time, but I would not push your luck if I were you. So how did you get in here?" Tieran mused, rubbing the kitten's fur absentmindedly. "Did you walk through the wall? There is no way into the room, so you must have. Since when do you walk through walls? And how did you find Caereh's house? That would mean you can transport from the Underground to Earth on your own. And you can enter computer programming. Just what has Irielen been feeding you?" Tieran asked the kitten, holding him up to look into his blue eyes.

"Mew," the kitten answered innocently.

"I see." Tieran sighed and put the kitten down. "Since you are here, make yourself useful and go find some help."

"Maow." The kitten sat in the center of the room and turned his back to Tieran.

"I know it is not usual feline policy to take orders, but now is your chance to change the perception of the whole feline race."

The kitten continued to give him the cold shoulder. Tieran wondered why Alia could not have gotten him a dog for Christmas instead. Dogs were helpful. They fell all over themselves trying to please you. Then again, a dog probably would not have found a way to get here. Tieran sighed. "Now what do I do with you?"

The kitten got up and casually sauntered through the wall. If Tieran had not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.

.….

Cara walked quickly along the wall, making good time, but still enjoying the scenery developing on either side of it. To her left butterflies fluttered among the treetops. She had not expected anything so beautiful in this Labyrinth.

"Though the way things have been running, they're probably flesh eating butterflies or something just as nasty." She pulled her eyes from the drifting butterflies to the right side of the wall.

Things had become less pleasant here. It looked like she was approaching the Bog of Eternal Stench. The few, twisted trees grew in sickly hues of brown and black, diseased yellows and greens.

"And of course that's the direction I have to head. How am I going to get down there and across that thing? I could really use that owl again."

"Cara!"

Cara looked up at the voice calling her name. "Jareth! Where have you been?"

"I am so glad I finally found one of you again," Jareth said as he jogged toward Cara.

"One of us? What do you mean? You lost Alia, too? No, don't touch me!" She suddenly remembered Hadrian's warning as Jareth came within a few paces.

"I lost her in the forest shortly after you disappeared," he explained holding his hands up in plain sight as she backed away from him. "I wasn't going to touch you. What's the matter? Are you contagious?"

"Hadrian very forcefully told me," she rubbed her throat as she said this, "that if you so much as touched me we would end up down there. He and Caereh really deserve each other. They're quite a jealous pair."

"Jealous is he? Did he hurt you? Let me see."

"No, I don't think he did. Hey! Get away! What's with you? Do you want to be down there in the middle of that?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do."

"What? Why?"

"Because that is the most direct route to the castle. Now what exactly did he say to you?"

"That if you kissed me, if you so much as touched me or I touched you we'd both end up in the Bog. Why?"

"I haven't seen any other way down there. Have you?"

Cara shook her head.

"I thought not," he said as he approached her again.

"But we'll stink!" Cara wailed.

"Only if it touches us. We're animated, in any case. It won't matter what we smell like here, it will be left behind when we get out."

"Oh, all right. But we'd better not land directly in it. What exactly did you have in mind here?" she asked him warily and took another step backward as she caught a glint in his eye.

"I want to be sure to get his attention," he told her as he grabbed her wrist before she could retreat further.

"That's what I was afraid of. Just don't get the idea that this means anything." She scrunched her eyes closed and braced herself.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jareth told her.

She felt a light touch on her cheek and Cara waited for the rest of it. When it did not come her eyes flew open. "That's it? That's your kiss? All that talk on your List and that's all there is to it?"

"It worked for Sarah and Hoggle." Jareth shrugged. "I was rather hoping it would do here, as well, but it looks as though stronger measures are called for."

Cara did not have time to brace herself before his mouth covered hers.

It began as a fairly ordinary sort of kiss – one of the ones you might have had as an experiment with a friend when young – then suddenly, as if he had flipped a switch, it changed. It became a kiss worthy of a romance novel, a spine-shivering, inside-melting, breath-taking kiss. She would never doubt one of those descriptions again.

"What did you think of that one?" Jareth asked, steadying Cara as she swayed a little. "More impressed now?"

"Yes," Cara panted. Her head was spinning. "Must be the lack of oxygen," she thought, then said aloud, "But we didn't go anywhere."

"Really?"

Cara looked around and recognized one of the reasons why she was having such a hard time catching her breath. They stood in the middle of the Bog of Eternal Stench, complete with fetid water and mutated giant mosquitoes.

"That was quite a show. What have you two been into?"

Cara and Jareth whipped around to see Alia sitting on a log nearby.

"It's not what you think," Cara stammered as she flushed red.

"Exactly," Jareth said. "Hadrian threatened to send us to the Bog if I kissed her. We needed to get here, so..."

"Mm-hmm. Sure. Whatever. And I'm supposed to believe he just set you down here?"

"I guess. That's what seems to have happened." Cara shrugged. "But you're right there. Putting us down neatly right next to you instead of dropping us any old place. That's being too nice for him. You'd think he was on our side. He must be up to something."

"Well, don't think you got through this without stinking yet. There's no bridge," Alia said, pointing at the forest, their goal.

Cara slouched against a tree trunk. "Now that's more like Hadrian."

"There is another way across, you know," Arten'barad said in Alia's ear.

Jareth began to ask about the small silver thing in Alia's hair, when Cara let out a shriek.

"Get it off!"

Expecting to find another killer lichen, Jareth was relieved when he saw the problem. He walked calmly over to Cara and detached the kitten from her head and neck. He held it up, saw the blue eyes, and handed it to Alia.

"I believe this is yours."

"Tieran's kitten! What's he doing here?"

"'Tieran's kitten?' Hasn't he got a name yet?" Cara asked rubbing her shoulder and neck.

Alia shook her head. "Tieran's waiting for something to suggest itself."

"How about 'Hook?'"

"I'll mention it to him," Alia told her absentmindedly. "I wonder how he got here?"

"The same way as this little thing on your shoulder?" Jareth said quietly in her ear, leaning over her shoulder. Arten'barad used the opportunity to transfer to Jareth and hide under his hair.

"However the feline arrived here, Jareth, do not put it off on me. I had nothing to do with it." Arten'barad told him sharply.

"Unless he can take us back with him, how he got here doesn't help us across the Bog," Jareth said. "We may just have to put up with the smell."

"Nonsense," Arten'barad said as Cara and Alia groaned among themselves. "As I was about to tell Alia, I know a way to get across easily. We will only need to distract your adversaries. The feline can do that. Tell them you have a plan."

Jareth's mouth twitched as he suppressed a retort, then announced, "I have a plan."


	24. Chapter 24

Tieran was still sitting on the floor trying to figure out how the kitten had managed to walk through the wall, when a key turned in the lock and the door opened. Caereh stood on the other side and beckoned for him to come with her.

Tieran sighed and thought, "Here I go again."

She did not bother blinding him this time, either forgetting her earlier concern or not needing the special treatment for the scene she had built up in her mind. They ended up in the throne room again, by a more direct route than Tieran remembered taking before.

Hadrian was already in the throne room, seated on the throne, when they entered. Caereh confronted him immediately.

"What are you doing? You're not hindering them enough. They're almost here and you're not stopping them."

"I'm not stopping them?" Hadrian rose from the throne without Caereh noticing, allowing Tieran to take a seat in it. "It's your Labyrinth, your game, remember?"

"But you're the one with the magic." Caereh whined, then realized her mistake almost as soon as she said it.

Hadrian was not going to let that slip by unremarked. "Really? How nice of you to finally admit it. Anything else you'd like to own up to?"

Caereh backed away from Hadrian as he sauntered toward her. "No other admissions? Still I think this is worth a commemoration of some sort, don't you?" he asked Tieran, glancing over his shoulder at him seated in the throne, but not waiting for an answer as he continued to advance on Caereh.

"Yes, I think so," he answered himself. "Where are you going?" he asked Caereh.

She paused at the rim of the pit in the center of the room, mouth working noiselessly as she tried to think of an explanation or a diversion.

Hadrian ignored his own question and returned to more interesting territory now that he had halted her retreat. "What about a plaque? Hmm? There's just room for a nice sized one over the throne there. See?" he said turning to study the space then demonstrating by placing a plaque on the wall just above Tieran's head. "And what shall we put on it?"

He had just begun considering the phrasing when a cat leapt to the back of the throne. His pale tail waved delicately as he found his balance, then curled around his feet as he sat primly on the curve. Tieran ignored the black cat's hiss as it fled from his lap and the room and considered the kitten with what he hoped was bland disinterest.

"What is that?"

Good, Caereh was trying to control the conversation again. Caereh he could bluff. He did not care to try it with Hadrian yet. "It looks to be a cat... or perhaps a kitten. Yes, definitely a kitten. Too small for a cat," Tieran said and turned to look at Caereh innocently.

"You seem to attract them," Hadrian said. "Where did it come from?"

"Some people are just that way," Tieran answered nonchalantly as his kitten jumped down to his lap and rubbed against him. "It must have been around. Did you see when it came in?"

"No, it was not 'around.' That cat is not part of the program. You know that as well as I do."

"What do you mean? Of course it's part of the program. It has to be," Caereh exclaimed.

"Don't be stupid," Hadrian told her. "Look at it." Hadrian snatched the kitten from Tieran's lap and held it up by the scruff of its neck. "This cat is real flesh and bone. I want to know what it's doing here and how it got here – and I think he knows. Don't you?"

Tieran met his gaze and answered, "I have no idea how that kitten got here."

"You're expecting me to believe that this mangy, fleabitten excuse for half a cat just showed up here by itself?"

The excuse for half a cat reached out and deliberately slapped Hadrian across his left cheek, leaving three parallel, glowing cuts on the cheekbone under his eye.

"I'd say he doesn't much like your description," Caereh said, amused that the tables had turned and Hadrian was the one under attack now, even if she was not the one attacking.

Hadrian looked up from the energy left on his hand after reflexively touching his face where the kitten had disrupted the animation. The light from the cuts glittered in his green eyes as he said, "You find it amusing? Here. You hold it." He threw the kitten at Caereh. The kitten, sensing what was coming, twisted and got in a parting shot, leaving several more gashes on Hadrian's hand before flying through the air.

As Hadrian vanished to nurse his wounded face and pride, Caereh sidestepped the flying feline. The kitten landed at her feet, calmly picked itself up and dusted itself off. Caereh stood watching it put its fur back in place, wondering what she was supposed to do with it now.

Settling the last tuft of fur to his satisfaction, the kitten looked around for the next activity. No goblins to avoid, no chickens to harass, not even that other odd cat to investigate. Finally his gaze settled on Caereh still standing in front of him. Boots. He had never tried them before.

.….

"Okay. The kitten's gone. I hope he distracts them like you want," Cara said. "Now what's this big plan of yours?"

"Arten'barad said she knew a way to get across. Is it your plan or hers?" Alia asked.

"Hers," Jareth admitted as he pulled the dragon from under his hair and set her on a low branch.

"It is simple really. I will change size and fly you across."

"And they won't notice the sudden appearance of a large dragon?" Alia asked doubtfully.

"That is what the distraction was for. And I will not need to be very large. You do not weigh very much in your present states and could weigh even less if necessary."

"What do you mean?"

"You are holographic images made by the computer, but controlled by your minds. You weigh as much as you think you should."

"In that case, perhaps we'd be best off trying to do this ourselves first," Jareth suggested. "If we can believe that we weigh less, we can believe that we get across the Bog without touching it. The less outside interference Caereh and Hadrian can claim to disqualify us when we reach the castle, the better."

"Easy for you to say," Cara protested. "You've got experience believing in odd and impossible things. Alia and I haven't."

"Try believing it's a simple transport from one place to another, like you've done before, and I'll take you across. If that doesn't work we'll follow Arten'barad's plan. The less talking about it we do, the easier it will be for you."

"Then let's get started. I guess I'll go first," Alia said. "If I can't do it Cara won't be able to either."

"Why not?" Cara demanded, stung by the questioning of her abilities.

"Just because I've transported more than you. If I can't remember and believe, then it doesn't seem likely you would."

"We'll see about that."

"If you two are done we can do this any time," Jareth interrupted. "How do you usually travel?" he asked Alia as she stepped up to him.

"Well, I close my eyes and we used to hold hands, but now, um, we..." she trailed off and began to blush.

"I see. And you keep quiet," he directed at Cara as she grinned at Alia's expense. "If you'll remember, you were in a not so innocent position a few minutes ago."

"We don't do anything like that." Alia was horrified. "What if he got too distracted and forgot where we were going?"

"Good point." He looked at Cara significantly. "Now that that has been cleared up, shall we give it a try?"

Alia nodded and they easily made the move from one side to the other. Jareth returned to bring Cara over as Arten'barad darted across to join Alia.

Cara closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she had transported anywhere and imagine doing it again. Images of Alia and Jareth traveling from one side to the other appeared in her mind. "That's not helping any," she thought as she shoved the image away to try concentrating on believing again.

After a few moments more she opened her eyes and said, "It's not working."

"I had noticed," Jareth answered flatly.

"What's wrong?" Alia called from across the Bog.

"I can't even remember being transported, let alone believe that's what I'm doing now."

"Unless you do, we may as well be rooted here. There is no way I can move you until you let me."

"What about some sort of distraction? Catch her off guard?" Alia suggested

"It might work, but what would distract her?"

"She looked pretty distracted when you two arrived earlier."

"I was not! I was trying to breathe," Cara protested.

"Now, now, Alia. No teasing from you either," Jareth admonished then suddenly grabbed Cara and tossed her over his shoulder to carry her over the Bog.

"Distraction enough?" he asked when he put her down.

"Yeah, I guess," Cara answered, still a little stunned from the sudden move.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Alia said.

"Good idea," Cara agreed.

.….

There was not much conversation as they walked along. They all knew that they still had some distance to travel and little time to do it in. Cara's thoughts turned to recent events, Jareth's kiss, of course, being the most memorable.

"Distracted?" she thought with a mental snort. "I wasn't distracted. Like I said, I was just having trouble breathing. And I was disoriented from being plopped down in the middle of the Bog. He had nothing to do with it. It didn't even start off all that great."

She had to admit that it ended up pretty well, though. She could almost understand what his List saw in him after that. The way he had turned that on, whatever it was, had been pretty impressive.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jareth asked her, startling her out of her thoughts. He had dropped in behind her after helping her and Alia up the last steep slope, leaving Alia to lead them along the path. "What are you thinking so seriously about?"

Cara ducked a branch and tried to think up something fast. Nothing came. "Um, nothing in particular. Why?"

"I thought you might want to discuss that kiss. The look on your face the first time – you looked as though you expected me to hurt you. What did you think I was going to do to you?"

"I don't know. I don't remember." Cara wanted more than anything right now to just drop this subject.

"Any other comments or critiques you would like to make?"

"Do you make a habit of this kiss-and-tell sort of thing?"

"No, but I do feel I am entitled to something after that initial reaction."

"Well, I'm a little surprised that I felt any reaction at all. We're just computer animation after all. I didn't think we'd be programmed for that sort of stuff."

"Of course you felt something. What did you think this program was for?"

"What do you mean? I thought it was a virtual reality game she was going to make millions off of, of course."

"And she just happens to keep a fully operational version of it in her home? One that may even be better equipped than the official version? I doubt it."

"So she likes to play the game. She developed and paid for it. I think she's entitled not to settle for a second rate copy."

"True. But I've been thinking about this as we walk and I think I know exactly what she used this personal copy of the 'game' for and I don't believe it was anything so innocent as you are thinking."

"Ow!" Cara slapped her upper arm.

"What is it?"

"Something bit me." She rubbed at her arm. "She's got bugs in here, too. Heehee! Bugs in her programming," Cara giggled at her pun and staggered as she kept walking.

Alia turned around at Cara's laughter just in time to see her stumble over a nonexistent tree root and fall in a heap.

"What happened?" Alia asked Jareth as he bent over Cara.

"She said something bit her," Jareth answered as Cara giggled happily on the mossy ground between them.

"What? An insect?"

"That's what she –" He stopped mid sentence to slap at his neck. He pulled his hand away and held a tiny splinter.

"A dart," commented Arten'barad, examining it from where she clung on Alia's shoulder.

"You think that's what got her?"

Jareth nodded then sat down heavily as he lost his balance. He leaned against a nearby tree trunk. "It seems that our brownie friends from the maze have woodland cousins."

"Now what do I do?" she asked, then slapped the back of her hand as something stung her there.

"Join the fun. 'Snot bad," Jareth slurred with a smile.

Alia wavered where she stood, then sat down before she fell. "Someone should tell Tieran," she said as she lay down to stop the ground spinning out from under her.

Arten'barad crept from Alia's shoulder as the three animated bodies shimmered and disappeared.


	25. Chapter 25

A tall man entered the ballroom, passing a gilt thirteen hour clock that read half past eleven. Dancers whirled and swayed past him, paying him no more attention than one of the square pillars supporting the arches sweeping overhead. He gazed about the room, seeking something in a vague way. He made his way down the steps, slipping lightly between the dancers in their brightly colored costumes and masks. 

He, too, wore fancy dress, but did not blend in with the throng. His costume alone glowed an iridescent pearl white and silver in the sea of colors. He wandered among the revelers, still intently searching the room for something he could not remember. As he ducked under a low-hanging chandelier draped in shining beads and candle wax he did not notice a dark-haired woman dressed in dark blue watching him from across the room.

She watched him from behind a horned mask for a time, then as the dancers moved between them to obscure her line of sight, she slipped away to another part of the ballroom. She discarded the mask and stood between two plainly dressed women flanking her, presenting her with small hand-held mirrors to admire herself in. She remained there preening until the man caught sight of her and began to work his way across the ballroom toward her. She let him approach until the crowd delayed him halfway across the room and then as dancers moved between them again she said, "We'll see who is chasing who this time. This time it will be done my way," and vanished into the crowd.

After she vanished, one of the two attendants stood a moment with a puzzled frown on her face, while the other wandered off aimlessly. The puzzled woman looked around her, trying to understand something. She caught sight of the woman in blue advancing on the tall man in white and inviting him to dance. As he accepted, realization spread over her face and she entered the throng of dancers purposefully.

"Aren't I the most beautiful woman here?" Caereh asked her partner, trying to evoke a response from him. Jareth had accepted her invitation to dance, moving with an innate grace and following where she led, but doing little more. He nodded absently at her question.

Alia searched through the throng of people, ignoring the dancers as she navigated their ebb and flow. She had eyes only for the furnishings of the ballroom.

"Not a single chair," she thought as she stood on the raised dais at one end of the hall after making a circuit of the entire room. "Not a chair, or a table, or even so much as a candlestick. Nothing but these cushions –" She kicked one down the stairs under the feet of the dancers. "– and a couple of huge tables that Schwarzenegger himself couldn't move. Caereh made certain we wouldn't be able to break out of here this time."

She stood there a while, trying to figure out what to do next, gazing at the dancers as they whirled without really seeing them. A flaw in the pattern of the dance caught her attention finally. A drab, putty-colored figure was making its way against the flow of the dancers toward the other end of the ballroom. She thought it looked like Cara, but couldn't be sure at this distance. She glanced around the room, spotted Jareth and Caereh still dancing, but did not see anyone else that looked like Cara.

"Better go get her. At least it's some place to start," Alia said and headed across the room.

As Alia slowly made her way across the room, a man in a mask, dressed in scarlet, bowed in front of Cara and silently petitioned her to dance. She stood a moment, dismayed and unsure. The gentleman took that as acceptance and reached for her with a gloved hand. He took the mirror that she still carried and showed her her reflection with a kind smile. The drab dress had turned a brilliant red-orange. She glanced down at herself and when she looked up again the mirror had disappeared and he swept her into the dance.

As they danced, Cara began to relax, enjoying herself, not caring that she did not know who he was, who she was, or why she was here. Only the dance mattered and as long as it lasted she was happy, certain that even if she could remember, she had never been happier.

An eddy in the flow of the dancers washed them into an out of the way corner, where they paused. He watched her closely, smiling. She smiled back uncertainly, unable to see his eyes behind the mask and get an idea of his thoughts.

Then slowly, so slowly that even in her half-witted state she knew what he intended to do, he leaned forward to kiss her. And she decided to let him.

It lacked something she had expected, but it was still a wonderful kiss and she found herself responding to it and kissing him back. When he pulled back and stepped away from her, she wished he would do it again and moved to follow him. He caught her and held her back with a small laugh. She stepped back and he let her go.

"If he's not going to let me kiss him again," she thought, "the least he can do is show me his face." She reached up for his mask.

He stopped her again, but this time she insisted. He finally relented and untied the ribbons holding it on.

As the mask fell away, she first noticed the set of slashes on his cheek. They glowed and glittered with a light of their own and, without thinking, she reached up to touch them.

He caught her wrist in a hard grip before she could and she looked up into his eyes, startled at his violent reaction. The light glittering in one of his green eyes gave him a lopsided look and made his eyes unreadable. She backed away from him in horror as her memory came flooding back. He released her wrist and let her go, retreating from her as well.

He backed toward one of the many mirrors decorating the walls of the ballroom and stepped through it. Cara ran to the mirror and watched, just able to keep sight of his brilliant red costume as he melted into the mirror crowd.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Come on we have to find Jareth and figure a way out of this place fast. We're running out of time."

"But –" Cara protested and gestured at the mirror as Alia pulled her away. She looked at it over her shoulder, but the scarlet had disappeared. Hadrian had vanished from the mirror.

"Have you seen him?"

"Jareth? No, I haven't. I –"

"Well, help me look. He's wearing white, kind of like Sarah in the movie. Caereh was with him the last time I saw him. Is that them over there?"

Caereh was less than pleased with the way things were going with Jareth. He only did what she told him to do. "He might as well be one of the computer programs," she thought. "It doesn't matter. As soon as this is over we'll be able to fine tune what he remembers and what he doesn't."

"Excuse me. We have to quit meeting this way," Alia said as she pulled Jareth away from Caereh.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Cara hissed as they lost themselves in the crowd.

"Yeah, well, me neither, but did you have any better ideas?"

"No. Now that we have Jareth what do we do?"

"We have to figure a way out of here."

"Why not break out like in the movie?"

"Have you seen any chairs anywhere? Caereh's made sure there's no furniture to break the bubble with. That must be why she's not following us. She knows we can't get out of here."

"What are we going to do about Jareth? He just stands there. Not that it's not nice to have him not talk back for a change, but it's going to get old directing him to do everything."

"Maybe he'll be back to himself once we get out of here. But how are we going to do that? Come on, think! It's after midnight already. Or noon. Twelve o'clock, whatever time that is." Alia experimented with beating on the bubble walls with her fists. The wall rippled, but did not break as her fists bounced off.

Cara stared absently at her reflection in a nearby mirror, trying to think of something, but her mind kept returning to Hadrian's behavior. That made twice now in the last few hours that she had been kissed, more than in the last year. Hadrian's kiss had been nice, no sparks like the one with Jareth, but very nice. If it had been anyone else she would have wanted more. Why had Hadrian kissed her, she wondered as she reached out to her reflection and touched the mirror's surface lightly.

Hadrian had walked into one of the mirrors. Could they do that? It seemed solid though, cold and hard, and showed no signs of being anything other than a normal mirror. And where would it get them if they did? They would just be stuck in a mirrored version of the ballroom with no chairs there either. She shook her head. No, that would not help.

Then she realized someone stood behind her in the mirror. She could not believe she had let Hadrian sneak up on her like that and turned around. No one stood or danced anywhere near her. She turned back to the mirror and he waited there, in his mask and costume.

He bowed to her ironically and pointed to a clock whose hands began to spin clockwise slowly. She opened her mouth to protest, then realized that the clock was not moving forward. They were not losing time, but gaining it. She looked back at Hadrian with a question on her face. Before she could articulate it coherently, he bowed to her again, pulled a small mirror from a pocket under the red cloak he wore, and threw it across the mirror ballroom, discus fashion.

It sailed above the heads of the dancers, growing instead of dwindling as it moved away. It smashed high into the far wall of the ballroom, shattering it. A moment later she heard a crash and screaming from behind her. She whirled around to see the ballroom collapsing around her. She looked back at the mirror, but it had turned dark, empty, and she started to fall.


	26. Chapter 26

They landed with a whomp and clatter on neighboring junk heaps of children's blankets and alphabet blocks. 

"That's gonna leave a bruise," Cara said with a groan, as she moved and started a small avalanche of blocks.

"No, it's not," Alia contradicted her from a nearby pile of children's security blankets, wubbies, blankies, and (insert your blanket's name here). "You're a hologram remember? You only bruise if you think you bruise. Just be thankful you don't have a wormy, half-eaten peach in your hand."

Cara slid to the foot of her pile in a rush of blocks and watched as Alia scooted down off of her pile. "That's easy for you to say. You landed on something soft. Now where's Jareth?"

"Don't know. I don't see him."

"He's got to be around here somewhere."

"You can't watch where you're going if you don't know where you're going," declared a strident voice from somewhere on the other side of the piles of children's things.

"Agnes," Cara said heading for the voice.

"Who?"

"Agnes. The junk lady that meets Sarah in the movie," Cara explained to Alia. "Come on. I'll bet she has Jareth."

They rounded the pile of blocks just in time to see Jareth disappearing around another pile, presumably trailing after Agnes offering to show him another treasure.

"I wonder what she lured him with?" Cara said, running to catch them before they disappeared.

"Beats me. It's hard to imagine Jareth as a child."

They rounded this pile to be confronted by a shaggy dog bounding at them, instead of Agnes and Jareth.

"Merlin!" This time Alia recognized the movie character.

"What?"

"Merlin. Or Ambrosius. The dogs from the movie."

"I don't think they're as friendly here," Cara said backing away from the barking dog and another who had joined him.

The girls backed away from the dogs around the corner and then back past the pile of blocks. Alia grabbed a few of them as they passed.

"What are you doing? You're going to drive them off with blocks? You're a lousy shot."

"No, first I'm going to try playing fetch. Then if that doesn't work you can try driving them off." She showed the dogs the blocks. "Here guys, see them? Go get 'em." She threw them down another aisle between more piles. The sheepdogs ran after them, hair flying.

"Come on, let's go." Cara said.

"Hang on." Alia ran to the pile of blankets and grabbed what looked like a sturdy one.

"What's that for?"

"In case they come back," Alia said, tying knots in opposite ends. "You'll see if they do."

"Whatever." She ran back to where they had last seen Jareth. "Now how are we going to find him?"

"Well, how did they do it in the movie?"

"I don't know. I never thought about it. Maybe the dog did it," Cara suggested.

"That doesn't do us any good. We don't have one."

"What about your buddies?"

"Merlin and Ambrosius? Even if they come back, they don't know who to look for," Alia told her. "And what if the holograms weren't programmed for that?"

"Well, he's got to be around here somewhere. Look for a sign he passed this way. Footprints, snagged clothing, things Agnes might have dropped –"

"Bread crumbs," Alia added.

"I was being serious."

"Come on, Cara. Like Caereh's going to make it that easy."

"Have you got any better ideas?"

"No, but –" Alia was interrupted by the approaching sound of dogs' muffled barking and then a moment later the two sheepdogs galloped around a pile ahead of them. They dropped two letter blocks at her feet and, for lack of tails, wagged their hindquarters enthusiastically instead.

Alia looked from their panting doggy grins to the slimy blocks at her feet and said, "Now, we know they were programmed to drool. If you think I'm touching those again, you're mistaken. Here, go play tug-of-war instead." She presented each dog with a knot in the blanket and shook it. They grabbed it and soon growled at each other merrily. "That should keep them busy for a while."

"Shame on you, Alia. Corrupting the guard dogs."

Alia shrugged. "They weren't much as guard dogs anyway. Let's keep looking. Maybe we'll find something."

.….

"Come on over this way. I've got some nice stuff here you'll be interested in," Agnes said as she lumbered toward a group of large leaning piles of childhood artifacts. "Here we are. I keep 'em hid here," she said in a loud, conspiratorial whisper as she pulled back a corner of a threadbare carpet. "Go on in. Have a look 'round."

He ducked under the carpet and entered a large room – a bedroom in a castle.

"Here ya go, Dearie. It's just the way you left it. It's got all the stuff your girlies gave you."

He stood lost in the middle of the room as Agnes wandered around examining items. She found a paperweight and brought it back to him.

"Here. You remember this one, don't ya?" She placed it in his hand and he looked down at the velvety red rose embedded in the polished lump of glass. "Rose gave ya that one didn't she? Remember her? Ya liked her, didn't ya?" She nudged him in the ribs and gave him a knowing leer through the hair hanging over her face, then wandered off again to find something else.

"Ah, here's a nice one, this is. Such a pretty one. And she wrote you a little note here at the bottom, see? 'To J – All my love, Linda.' Aw, in't that sweet?" She slapped the glamorous photo of a dark haired woman in a gilt frame into his chest and left to hunt again, picking through the things scattered around the room.

"Ooh, what's this? A little sparkly. You'll want to keep that one. Who gave you that one? Her name was Ronni, wan't it?" She shoved the small object on him, forcing him to take it before she quickly turned away again. He tucked the photo frame under his arm and looked at what Agnes had given him. It was a cut crystal drop from a chandelier. He frowned at it, having no idea who gave it to him or why.

"She told you it was so you could remember how you met. When you was chasin' that other woman singin' in the show. Phantom somethin' or other she called it," she reminded him as he stared at it. No matter how hard he tried he could not remember ever having met the woman she was talking about. He stuffed the drop in his pocket, still none the wiser, as she came back with another picture frame.

"Lookee here at this one. This one's you. One of 'em painted a picture of you. Even signed it here at the bottom." Agnes pointed to the bold signature that read 'Aeris.' "She's pretty good, not the sort of style you see ev'ry day, but she wasn't an ev'ry day girl now was she? You'd better keep that one, too." She handed him the small painting and patted his arm before leaving for another treasure.

Agnes continued searching the room and bringing the items to him, always she knew the item and who had given it to him. He sat down on the bench at the foot of the bed and she began piling them around him and placing them on the bed. There were odds and ends scattered everywhere and still she brought him more. But he recognized none of them, no matter how much she told him about the item and its giver and the emotions between them, he could remember none of it, had no feeling for any of it.

"And here's another one, from that young girl you almost lost." She wound up the music box and the tiny figure in the white dress twirled to the music in her gilded cage. "Silly little Sarah. Sayin' you had no power over her. Lucky for her you took her anyway when she changed her mind, eh?" The music box continued to play as she went searching again.

"All these sweeties you had. Bet there's one you wished you stayed with, hmm? One you'd like to meet again. Yes, yes, I bet there was a special one somewhere. Which one was it? Hmm? Think. Had to be one you like better than the rest. Who was she? Let's see..."

She looked around the room, searching for something in particular. "That one. She was it," she said and made a beeline for an item he couldn't see. When she finally turned around he saw it was a bird cage of sorts, an octagonal pavilion of silver and gold and translucent wavy glass that he did not remember noticing in the room before. He thought he could see movement in it.

"This one had to love you best. She gave you the biggest present. Fancy bird cage with a pretty little birdie in it to sing to you. Did she sing to you, too?" She set the cage in his lap.

He looked into the cage, curious about the contents, which he remembered no better than any of the other gifts she had shown him.

"Yes, Isis was your favorite, wa'nt she?"

He could not remember anyone named Isis. And it did not look like a bird in the cage as Agnes said. It was too small for a bird, nor was it shaped like a bird. And there was something familiar about it.

"Yes, yes," Agnes babbled on. "You should find her again. Call her back. She's the one you should have kept. Make a nice Goblin Queen she would. Forget all the other women. This one's the only one you really need." But Jareth had ceased paying attention to her, instead standing up and starting an avalanche of bric-a-brac, looking around the cage for a door. He wanted to let the creature out. If it was what he thought, it did not belong in the cage or with these gifts.

He found the door and flipped the clasp. The flash of silver darted from the cage which Jareth dropped to one side carelessly as he watched her flight to the window. He followed the tiny dragon and pulled aside the heavy curtains cloaking the window to expose cloudy panes. He unfastened the latch and swung them open to see only darkness and murky shapes beyond.

Behind him Agnes had noticed his actions and followed him to the window where she now tugged at his sleeve, trying to recapture his attention. "Nobody out there, dearie. No, no, nothing to look at out there. Come back in here and look at your pretty gifts. All these nice memories, all these nice girls. Come back and see. We'll look at them all." She pulled at him more insistently and he shook her off roughly.

"Go away old woman and peddle your false memories to someone else. I don't believe them." He climbed over the windowsill and vanished into the darkness beyond.

"Damn," she muttered after she watched him disappear, beady eyes flashing greenly from behind the curtain of hair hanging over her face.

.….

Jareth paused among the piles of trash outside the window looking about him for some sign of which way he should go. Arten'barad had flown out of the window and away into the darkness without a sign. Somewhere in the near distance he heard dogs barking. Unable to see the castle beyond the piles of junk, he picked a direction at random and started walking.

He chose the wrong direction and soon came running back the same way, pursued by two shaggy sheepdogs in full voice. They cornered him in a dead end and stood guard in front of him.

"Wonderful. They have a whole junkyard to patrol and they have to be in the aisle I take a wrong turn down," he muttered as he plastered himself against a pile of little red wagons with their paint peeling off and tried to think of a way to deal with two dogs at once.

"There you are! We've been looking for you!"

Jareth looked up and saw Alia and Cara standing beyond the dogs. He opened his mouth to warn them when the two sheepdogs ran to Alia and danced in front of her.

"Aren't you good dogs? You found him for us. Yes, that's good boys," Alia fussed over them.

Jareth closed his mouth, a slightly puzzled frown on his face as he approached them.

"She made friends," Cara explained. "Now they won't leave us alone. We've walked all over this maze of junk and they keep wandering off and then finding us again."

"Any idea which way is out?" he asked.

"No, but this better be it, because I don't want to walk all the way back to the other end," Cara said.

"We have to run out of piles soon," Alia said, looking up from the dogs. "Haven't you noticed? They're alphabetized and we're running out of alphabet. How many things can you think of beginning with x, y, or z?"

.….

They stopped at the edge of the junk piles, hiding behind a hill of stuffed zebras to scout out the clearing between them and the gates to the Goblin City. There were no guards at the gate, not even sleeping ones.

"All right. Let's go through here fast. If it works like the movie, we'll have time to slip through the second gate before it closes," Cara said and ran for the first gate. Merlin and Ambrosius ran after her with a chorus of barks making them all wince, certain the dogs would alert the city.

They pushed open the first gate and ran for the second one as it started to close. Jareth made it through just as it slammed closed.

"Come on. Let's run through the City, too," Alia suggested. "I don't want to be delayed by the goblin guards and we don't have Ludo to call the rocks for us. If we hurry maybe we'll get through before they do."

They heard a loud metallic grinding and clanking behind them as they ran for the castle they saw over the rooftops of the goblin houses. They hit the first goblins when they reached the square in front of the castle. The goblins poured down the castle steps and, judging by the noise behind them, had them surrounded as well.

"Go on. Just keep running," Alia said when the other two paused. "Ignore them and maybe they'll ignore us." A loud crash sounded behind them. "What are they doing back there?"

"Let's not stay to find out," Jareth suggested.

They ran across the square. The goblins cheered at the sight of their quarry and rushed toward them. Then after another loud crash close behind them, the goblins suddenly turned and ran back up the steps. The two dogs chased up the steps after them, barking madly, convinced that they had the goblins on the run.

The goblins fell over themselves trying to jam through the little goblin door set in the large castle doors all at once, dogs snapping at their heels. They slammed the door shut behind them, barely missing the last one's tail.

Cara reached the door first and yanked at the chains, trying to open it. The dogs scratched madly at the door.

"No you push them to open them," Jareth said as he and Alia joined her moments later. The three of them managed to push it open far enough for them to slip through. Alia squeezed through first and Cara followed her. Cara looked back down into the square as they turned to shut the doors behind them against the following goblins.

"Look! That must be why they ran." She pointed down at the large metal robot crossing the square.

"What? Yes, hurry up. Unless you want to wait to meet him personally?" Jareth asked.

They pushed the doors shut after them, hoping that they would hold if Humongous attacked the castle itself to come after them.

They turned to enter the castle and look for Tieran and found their way up more stairs blocked by Hadrian instead. Merlin and Ambrosius ducked behind the three of them to hide.

"Now what?" Cara said.

Hadrian said nothing. A thud sounded at the door behind them and they turned to see if it held against Humongous. It had been barred against him, or them, for that matter since the three of them would never have been able to move the huge beam across the door. When they turned back to Hadrian to see what he wanted from them this time, he had gone.

"I hate it when he does that," Cara muttered as they started up the stairs.

They came to the throne room fairly quickly and the three of them moved to take the stairs in the alcove off to the left. The dogs pattered around the room, nose to floor, following fascinating smells.

"Where are you going?" Jareth demanded.

"To the confrontation," Cara answered matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Alia agreed.

"But that's not how it was done in the movie."

"I don't care how it was done," Cara rebelled. "I'm not getting separated again. Besides how do we know who has to do the confrontation and whether everyone not there will get transferred, too? We're coming." She ran up the stairs without waiting for Jareth to respond and Alia followed.

"Wait!" he called after them. "Don't just go running up there. Why do they never learn?"

When Jareth caught up to Alia and Cara, he found them hugging the wall of a landing overlooking the convoluted room of stairs and arches seen in the movie. This room was a little different though. Caereh, continuing her habit of cleaning the movie up to her liking and making it her own to the point where not many would want it anyway, had replicated it entirely in polished stainless steel.

"Do you see anyone?" he asked them.

"Haven't looked yet," Cara replied.

"Do we really have to do this room?" Alia asked, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. "I mean was it part of the instructions?"

"All it said was the center of the Labyrinth," Cara said, still clinging to the wall.

"Right. So how do we know this is the center? I vote we go back down and wait in the throne room. Makes sense to me that the throne would be the center of the kingdom," Alia said, turning to go back down the stairs and bumping into Jareth.

He grabbed her and turned her around. "We have to do it this way because this is what happened in the movie. Would Caereh come up with something else? She hasn't yet. And she'd never miss a chance to show off. No, this is where we have to be." He moved past them to the stairs at the edge of the polished landing.

"Not so mouthy now are you?" Caereh's voice asked them.

"Where is she? I don't see her," Cara said.

"Down there." Jareth pointed to a landing almost directly below them.

"Now what do we do?" Alia asked as she peered cautiously over the edge. "Do we have to get to her somehow? All Sarah did was jump."

Chimes rang out through the room.

"No, not more music. Please tell me Caereh is not going to sing again," Tieran groaned.

"Tieran! Where is he?" Alia looked over the edge of the landing for him excitedly, leaning so far that Cara and Jareth had to grab her by her shirt to steady her.

The room rang with Hadrian's amusement at Tieran's comment as Caereh turned in fury.

"Shut up! I've had enough of your comments!" she yelled, stamping a boot scarred with long, vertical, glowing gashes, then threw a crystal viciously at Tieran.

Alia, Cara, and Jareth tried to follow the crystal among its many reflections. The steel mirrors had deceived Caereh as well and it bounced a few times on stairs and arches before reaching its destination where Tieran caught it and threw it unerringly back at her. It barely missed her head as she ducked and flew through the inverted arch behind her to bounce out of sight.

"Missed. You should have aimed lower. You knew she would duck," Hadrian advised him, from his disturbing position reclining upside down in an arch above them all. His face also still bore the scars from his encounter with the kitten.

Caereh stormed toward Hadrian in blind and speechless fury, then suddenly realized where she stood, turned pale and rooted to the spot.

Jareth stepped forward to the edge of the landing and Cara grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going down there," he said pointing at Caereh's platform. "She's obviously not going anywhere," he added derisively.

"Are you nuts?"

"No. If Arten'barad's theory holds, I should be able to just walk down there."

"Walk upside down you mean? But you haven't got your magic."

"No, but I'm used to thinking of walking that way when I do." He shrugged. "If it doesn't work, I won't have far to drop."

Meanwhile, during this discussion, Hadrian had been taunting Caereh and Alia was looking for a way to get to Tieran. Jareth noticed her and suggested, "Try turning left at the bottom of the stairs. If the room is as much the same as the movie as it looks it might get you there."

"Thanks," she said and took off down the stairs.

"Fine Goblin Queen you make," Hadrian scoffed. "Can't even walk in your own castle."

Jareth turned and stepped off the landing and swung around before Cara could say anything else. She dropped to her knees to look over the edge. Jareth had vanished. She leaned further over the edge and saw him standing there, upside down. He gestured at her to be quiet and pointed at Caereh, distracted by Hadrian and her battle with vertigo.

Cara sat back to look around for Alia and Tieran. Alia had not managed to find a way to get to Tieran yet, but had not given up either. When Cara looked back for Jareth he had turned himself around and crept up behind Caereh already.

"That figures," she thought. "I missed just the part I wanted to see."

"Not as easy as it looks, is it?" Jareth said over Caereh's shoulder as she looked around for Hadrian, who had abruptly stopped taunting and vanished.

"Annoying isn't he?" Hadrian whispered in Cara's ear, startling her. Cara lost her grip on the edge of the landing and slipped forward into empty space.

Caereh whirled and swung at Jareth to slap, but instead of making contact with his face her hand passed through him. The lack of resistance caused her to stumble toward the edge and teeter there for a moment waving her arms to try to regain her balance. She grabbed wildly at Jareth to save herself, but her hands passed through him again and she fell.


	27. Chapter 27

"Are you all right? I didn't intend for you to slip over the edge." 

Cara, to her surprise, had stopped falling. The world fell apart around her, the steel plate mirrors of the room flying about her, slow motion shrapnel. Alia and Tieran drifted by. But in the eye of this cyclone of debris she did not move and neither did Hadrian behind her.

He had caught her around the waist just as she slipped and now she did not know whether to thank him or fight him off.

"Just let me go," she told him, turning to face him and push him away. "We made it to the center. We won."

"Not yet you haven't and you didn't do it alone."

"No, the three of us did it together. Let me go. What do you want? The words? 'You have no power over me.' There, does that do it?"

"There's more to it than that."

"You didn't care what Caereh wanted before."

"Oh, didn't he?" Caereh demanded. Cara whirled around to discover that the confrontation scene had assembled around her unnoticed. Caereh stood a few feet away, a deep crimson blot against the colorless surroundings. Alia and Jareth stood just beyond her.

"Don't act so surprised, Caereh," Jareth said. "You're the only one who doesn't already know that you get no respect from anyone. Now let's get this over with. Send us home. You have no power over us."

The key words triggered the end sequence of the simulation. Caereh swirled and vanished. The next thing Cara knew, she and Alia stood in Sarah's room.

"Now what?" Cara demanded, sitting heavily on the bed. "This is just another set! We're still animated! We should have known better than to expect them to just let us go that easily," she ranted.

"Where's Tieran? And Jareth?" Alia interrupted her tirade.

"I don't know. They're probably around here somewhere, stuck like us." A heavy thud and crash sounded in the next room and footsteps ran up the stairs. Alia and Cara looked at each other a moment, then went to the door and peered around the edge of the door frame.

Jareth and Tieran walked out of the room next to them. Alia threw herself at Tieran before he cleared the door.

"Why did you two land in there? What was that noise?" Cara asked as they reentered Sarah's tiny room.

"I didn't," Jareth answered. "He did, in the crib. I appeared downstairs."

"Why?"

Jareth shrugged. "That's the way the computer interpreted our roles. He was Toby and I was Sarah, therefore that is where we should appear."

"Then why weren't we down there with you?" Cara wanted to know as she sat on the bed again.

"Because we were Hoggle and Ludo and we appear up here," Alia told her. "You know animated hugs just aren't the same," she added with a dissatisfied sigh.

"Please, spare us the sappy romantics," Jareth groaned from the chair in front of Sarah's dressing table.

"Oh, leave them alone, you old grouch," Cara scolded. "It's been a very trying ordeal. What I want to know is what we have to do to get out of this animation."

"What makes you think she's going to let you out?" Hadrian asked from behind Cara on the bed.

"A naive sense of fair play, I suppose," Cara said as she immediately got up to close the window where a cold rain had begun to blow in. As she reached up to pull the sash down a pale bird flew in through the window, flapping wings wildly in her face. Cara reflexively swatted at the deranged creature and it lurched across the room.

Jareth ducked in the desk chair and turned in time to see Caereh replace the damp bundle of feathers.

"You should have learned by now that there's nothing fair about the Labyrinth," Caereh said.

"Oh the Labyrinth's fair, it's the people running it that aren't. The Labyrinth is impartial. You're the one holding the grudge," Jareth pointed out.

"Whatever." Caereh shrugged it off. "You're still out of luck. I'm not going to let you get off that easy. I still have full power over you and I'm going to use it." She made a show of pondering her options. "Let's see what shall I do first?" She broke into a showy pleased grin. "I know. I'll start with you," she said, pointing to Cara.

"Since you're so good with the computers, I think I'll let you get up close and personal with them. We'll just make you a permanent resident. Doesn't that sound like fun? Hadrian, get rid of the data necessary to turn her back into a solid."

"No." Hadrian casually lay on Sarah's bed staring at the ceiling, with his hands behind his head.

Caereh frowned. "What do you mean, 'no'? Do as I say!"

"No."

"I demand to know why not!" Caereh yelled, fists clenched at her sides. Alia expected a foot stomp and a temper tantrum to follow.

"I don't feel like it. I prefer her the way she is," he told the ceiling.

"Then I'll do it myself."

"I doubt it," he answered blandly.

"What do you mean? You've put some sort of block on it! How dare you interfere!"

"I dare a lot of things, in case you hadn't noticed," he said, finally turning his head to look at Caereh instead of the ceiling.

"You'll regret this."

"You keep saying that, but the thing you keep forgetting, Caereh, is that you have no power over me." He got up off the bed. "You never have. I went along with your little scheme because it amused me. It doesn't amuse me any more. I think it will be much more fun to watch you squirm. You're on your own."

"Fine. I don't need you anyway."

"Oh, don't you?" Hadrian asked as he removed the magic barriers he had erected around the game. Immediately they heard a roar and a tearing, rending sound overhead and the ceiling and walls began to crack.

Huge black talons ripped through the plaster and lath of the ceiling and down the walls. Bits of plaster and wood as well as shreds of energy from the disrupted animation showered down on them until an invisible barrier shielded five of them. Caereh stood in the middle of the room screaming as she covered her head against the debris still raining down on her.

The room shifted slightly as everything in it became solid and real once again. Hadrian grabbed Cara's arm and headed for the door. "Come on. Let's get out of here while we still can."

With a few more passes Arten'barad had ripped away most of the ceiling and all of the outer wall, exposing the room.

"Let go of me," Cara said

Arten'barad, eyes glowing brilliantly, lunged and snapped at Hadrian. He released Cara.

"Go on, get out of here. That door will take you out of the simulation now," Hadrian said, pointing at the bedroom door and ducking as Arten'barad snapped at him again, then pinned Caereh to the floor.

"You wanted to live in a world of fantasy? What do you think of a real dragon, hmm?" the dragon asked Caereh.

Jareth, Cara, Alia, and Tieran stood watching the show.

Hadrian said to Jareth, "Get them out of here before the dragon tears apart the whole house. I can only hold her off for so long."

Jareth smiled and said, "Come on. Let's get out of the way." He herded them out of the room and they found their way out of Caereh's house. Once they reached the driveway they turned to watch the oddity of a dragon tearing apart a house in their world.

"Do you think she'll kill them?" Cara asked.

"No, I doubt it. She's only scaring them a little before trapping and binding them so they can't cause any more trouble," Jareth explained. "I should go and see if she needs help."

"Will you need my help?" Tieran asked.

"Have you had much experience with this sort of thing?"

"No."

"I doubt we'll need you then. Keep an eye on things out here." Jareth ran back inside.

"You carried that thing around in your pocket?" Cara asked Alia incredulously as the dragon roared again.

"She's not always like this."

"If she could do this, why didn't she rescue us earlier?"

"I can think of several possible reasons," Tieran said. "Whatever the reason, I would not recommend questioning her about it."

"Why not?"

"Because you're crunchy and taste good toasted," Alia said.

"She wouldn't eat me, would she?"

"No," Tieran reassured Cara. "Arten'barad is not that sort of dragon. All the same, it is best not to question their actions."

"Whose actions?" Jareth asked, returning in the middle of the conversation.

"Dragons. Is everything under control?"

"It's all right here," Jareth said, holding up a crystal.

"Isn't it dangerous putting them both in the same place?"

"Hadrian was gone when I got back. This is just Caereh. We put her back in her simulation, then put wards on the computer and put the computer in the crystal."

"So what is Arten'barad doing?" Alia asked pointing at the dragon still nosing around in the remains of Caereh's house.

"She's going to take care of the house. Perhaps we should stand back."

The dragon sat back on her haunches and ignited the house.

"I guess that's one way of taking care of evidence," Alia said, watching the flames spread. "Now it's just a case of arson." She felt something rub against her ankle and looked down. Tieran's kitten twined itself between her legs weaving in and out from under the skirt of the dress she had worn to the opera.

"Are you ever going to give this kitten a name? You've had him for months." She picked him up and rubbed his chin. "He's helped save our lives. I think he deserves a name. Cara suggested a name for him. What was it again, Cara?"

"Hook. He's got a mean set of claws."

"No, I think I have the perfect name for him," Tieran said.

"What's that?"

"Since he seems to have a way with computers, I think Pixel would be appropriate."

"I have not had fun like that in ages," Arten'barad sighed as she wandered over from the fire, interrupting the naming. "Ah, the kitten has reappeared. How is the little changeling?"

"Changeling?" Alia asked.

"Obviously he is not a cat from this world. Is he? Things have not changed that much have they?" Arten'barad asked Jareth.

"No," he answered.

"Then he must be something else."

"What then?" Tieran looked at the kitten, wondering just what would be wandering about his house in a few years.

"Wait and see. When he grows up, then you will know," the dragon said.

"We should leave before someone investigates that fire," Alia pointed out.

"Good idea," Jareth seconded.

"Yeah, and where's our party?" Cara demanded as they walked to Alia's car. "If we were playing roles in the movie, we should get a party now."

"All right, Party Animal, you can drive home," Alia said. "All I want to do is sleep for a week."

"Well, if you want to do that, you shouldn't be going back to the apartment. You've got classes. Damn!" Cara swore as she put the keys in the ignition.

"What?" Alia asked mildly, head resting against Tieran's shoulder.

"That ring. The one I gave the Wise Man and his bird. Remember?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It's back." Cara held it out for Alia to see before chucking it out the window.


End file.
